


Trolls vs Wizards

by Reuben_Aloway



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Trollhunters (Cartoon), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-05-16 21:49:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 49,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14819508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reuben_Aloway/pseuds/Reuben_Aloway
Summary: James Lake Jr. hasn't seen or heard from his father since his 5th birthday. Fast Forward twelve years and he's fought in a millenia long war, saved his home town and the world from an ancient witch and made a decision that forced him to leave home long before he was ready.The journey to New Jersey didn't yield the HeartStone they were looking for, instead they found a way to restore TrollMarket. Now back in Arcadia with a way to live a semi-normal life Jim is trying to settle back into his home, balancing his new instincts with his heart, too bad it was also the time his dad decided to come 'home' and once more throw everything into disarray and reveal yet more of Earth's hidden worlds.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first bit of writing I've done in a while, it's unbeta'd so yes there will be some errors as I try and figure out timelines. This is my first time using AO3 so I apologize in advance for any mistakes I will try and correct them in the future. I didn't expect my first post to be a crossover but his idea wouldn't leave me alone, and I've been in love with TrollHunters since I first watched it on Netflix.  
> I started this before the season 3 trailer was aired but the ending actually worked really well the idea so it's now post season 3 so yes there will be spoilers for all three seasons. Thank you and enjoy

Barbara Lake did not believe herself to be an overly complicated or particularly outstanding woman. Yes she worked as a doctor and had a hand in saving people’s lives on a daily basis; she acted as emotional support for Friends, Family and even complete strangers on a daily basis, and yes she lived in a town that had recently found out that Trolls, Goblins and Wizards were real along with the possibility of aliens if what she could decipher from Toby’s ramblings about a visit to Eli’s one night. She dealt with complicated situations and lived in a town that had extraordinary secrets, but still she felt like a normal, everyday human dealing with everyday problems such as balancing a work and home life, juggling friends and colleagues and until recently.....her son.

Barbara felt her heart clench at the memories of her son, her eyes burned as she felt tears begin to well up behind her eyes. Her son was gone. It had been several months since she’d been forced to watch her son depart with the Trolls of Trollmarket, only able to take a little solace that he wouldn’t be alone, that he had Blinky and Claire with him and that he’d promised to keep in touch, though she hadn’t heard from him lately probably busy making sure everyone who’d left settled in New Jersey without too much difficulty, she couldn’t help but smile to herself as the thought crossed her mind as she picked up a photo of a much younger Jim standing proudly in front of the oven his first meatloaf in his hands held out to her like a prize. Jim had always had too big a heart, he always put others before himself even when it hurt and now he’d done one selfish act, not out of desire but necessity, oh she understood, but that didn’t make it hurt less.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath as she tried to regain her composure, she put down the photo and proceeded to go about her day, though she knew it would be difficult when memories of her son littered the house.

In truth it had been difficult since he’d left, sure Gunmar and Morgana had been defeated and the majority of Trolls had left, though some had stayed behind, unwilling to abandon the place that had been their home for so long while others had decided it best to wait until their new home was ready for everyone. Arcadia itself was still recovering, Ophelia had managed to harangue every official into keeping what happened quiet, not that it was hard no one thought the rest of the world was ready or would even believe what had happened; finances had proven a problem, despite the tremors caused by Morgana along with supporting statements from Detective Scott, Councillor Nunez and the mayor many insurance companies were still withholding funds, and with trying to hide the extraordinary world beneath their feet they couldn’t exactly take them to court.

The red head glanced at the clock as she entered the kitchen only to see it wasn’t even midday, the day off from the hospital, which she frankly needed after everything that had happened, was torture, before she had known Jim was safe, though in hindsight wasn’t, and she could go about her day worrying about everyday things and thanking whatever higher power was out there that she could get some rest, now...she couldn’t call Walt, the former changeling having chosen to stay in Arcadia to offer whatever help he could to atone from his actions and offer a shoulder for Barbara to cry on, he was currently helping find homes for the thousands of babies NotEnrique and Chompsky had rescued from the collapsing Darklands as well as teaching Toby, Eli and Steve about Troll history and how to defend themselves. Barbara felt a small smile inching its way across her face, she knew he wouldn’t admit it but he missed teaching, the school had offered him his old job back but without the protection of changeling magic, like every other Troll he was vulnerable to daylight.

That thought nearly had her whirling back into depression again as she recalled the hunt for Jim, finding him on the school roof, alone and terrified but unable, or unwilling, to let anyone get close, never had she felt more powerless, or more murderous towards Merlin for what he’d done, though more pressing matters at the time demanded their attention and forced her to put them on the backburner only to have most of them work themselves out during the battle against Gunmar and Morgana, it didn’t mean the wizard was off the hook for making Jim feel guilty about breaking his promise like his father had done.

A gentle knock at the door caught her attention.

Confused, and curious as to who could be visiting at this hour Barbara walked cautiously towards the door, her fight or flight instincts still very much on alert, even more so when her visitor knocked again.

The knock itself was...odd, as if they were scared or didn’t know their own strength. Hesitantly she reached for the handle, turning it slowly as the shadowy figure on the other side grew more defined, and oddly familiar...

As the door swung open she couldn’t help but gasp in shock as bashful, blue eyes fixed on her from under a familiar mop of shaggy blue-black hair. She couldn’t stop the tears as they poured down her face as she threw herself forward a strangled “...Jim” passing her lips.

“...Hi Mom....”


	2. Chapter 1 - News and Reunions

Tobias Domzalski panted as he peddled furiously towards his home from school though he knew it would be empty, Nana having gone to the community centre for her weekly old lady gathering and Dictatious was working on a new book that had proven surprisingly popular once he discovered Braille and speech to text software, he knew ARRGH! Would be there playing GO GO SUSHI but that still left way too much time to think between then and school.

It was safe to say that Tobias was not handling Jim’s absence well; everyone knew it though no one said anything save for Aja and Krel but they were aliens so they got a pass. The only time he could really pretend he was okay as when he was with other people, Darci, ARRRGH! And Dr. Lake they helped, but nothing could fill the empty Jim shaped hole that he’d left so he tried to avoid being alone as much as possible, the real problem being the journey to and from school, he wasn’t ashamed to admit that there were times he cried himself to sleep, not that he ever would though he was pretty sure Darci knew, hell she missed Claire but she still had Mary so...

Toby sighed, annoyed that one of the school teams had made it to a semi-finals of...something and Darci had to go cheer as the school mascot otherwise she’d have given him a lift, or at least her dad would, they’d bonded surprisingly well once the knowledge of Trolls had gotten out, that and saving his daughter from a Stalkling.

He slowed down when he saw the cul-du-sac with his house approaching, his hand drifting to where he hid his warhammer in his backpack as he sensed something different. He wasn’t sure what it was, perhaps leftover instincts from the fight with Gunmar, or maybe his training and patrols were finally paying off but lately he knew when something was off, not that it did him any favours during finals when everyone was on edge or one his Nana’s cats was creeping around when he was trying to sleep. He just wished it could be more specific, all Toby knew was that something was different about his home.

He strained his eyes as he nimbly dismounted his bike, a skill he was very proud of after years of face planting concrete and tarmac, pupils narrowing as he tried to figure things out. The street was quiet, normal for this time of day, Dr. Lake’s car was in her driveway, not surprising considering it was her first day off since the battle and people were still having problems or getting injured from the debris or lone goblins that still hung around. It wasn’t until his eyes flicked upwards that he noticed the first thing wrong. 

His bedroom window was dark. Usually ARRRGH! Would be engrossed in a game of GO GO SUSHI, especially with the release of GO GO SUSHI 2 but there were no flashes of electric blue light that would indicate such as thing, the second thing he noticed was the presence of the strange tingly sensation people felt whenever something magical was around, a presence Toby had never noticed until TrollMarket was gone and with it the odd background sensation that so many tourists and passersby noticed when they first arrived.

Now convinced something was wrong and determined to rescue his wingman from danger Toby readied his warhammer, finger on the release as he first headed to the Lake house to check in his best friend’s mom, standing by the door as he took a deep breath ready to charge in....This was so much easier all those months ago!

It was the sound of a breaking plate that spurred him to move, warhammer bursting out as he yelled bravely (read: screamed in panic and hope it sounded tough) as he charged in eyes screwed shut until he felt something grab his hammer head and force him to halt abruptly between the living and dining room.

Fear shivered down his spine as Toby opened his eyes only to feel them widen as they met a pair of hauntingly familiar baby blues. 

“Hey Tobes,” that small embarrassed smile hadn’t changed despite everything as the teen struggled to make sense of what he was seeing barely registering the shaggy form of ARRRGH! Beside him grinning widely as he waited for Toby’s inevitable reaction.  
“...Jim...?” he hesitantly let go of the handle, one hand moving to poke the image of his best friend before him, “...JIM!” even ARRRGH! Would have staggered as Tobias Domzalski leapt forward at a speed thought impossible for humans, arms, eyes and grin wide as he hurtled through the air and collided into the soft form of a very human-looking Jim Lake.

The sight of a short Toby and a very much taller Jim wrestling on the floor caused Barbara to laugh brightly as she walked in from the kitchen, the sound loud enough to distract the two boys from their play fighting, scrambling up with an embarrassed laugh, Toby accepting the now shrunken Hammer from ARRRGH!

“Heh-heh, hi Dr. Lake...heh,” guilty eyes kept glancing towards the flung open door and dislodged stair post.

“Hi to you to Toby,” Dr. Lake chuckled to herself.

“W-when did...How....when did you get back? What about New Jersey?” Toby couldn’t decide who to ask, finally settling on Jim when he started to feel dizzy from the rapid back and forth.

“Early this morning, things....kinda came up,” the awkward scratching of the back of his head looked odd on Jim’s taller frame, the size and action somehow at odds with each other as Toby tried to connect Human!Jim with the Troll!Jim he’d come to accept as his best friend.

“How about we take this to the lounge, I think we could all use a sit down,” Dr. Lake gently guided the two teens through the arch, skirting the few fragments of broken plate and dismembered fork on the floor, they could wait until later.

“Is it just you or did Blinky and Claire....?” Toby couldn’t bring himself to finish the question; the thought that Trollhunter Team might be reunited was just...

“Claire’s staying with her parents and planning to meet up with Darci and Mary later not that they know that yet, as for Blinky...” Jim turned to look at ARRRGH! “He and the rest of the Trolls are at TrollMarket with Merlin going over the Heartstone,” Toby knew that Blinky was to ARRRGH! What Jim was to him and couldn’t begrudge him the chance to meet up with him, smiling brightly as the moss covered Troll practically vanished into the basement to take the sewer tunnel.

Jim chuckled in relief as he let himself collapse onto the sofa, his stomach feeling bloated from the first proper human meal he’d had in months, overjoyed at seeing his mom and best friend once again, he felt guilty for not letting them know what was going on but everything had been hectic, and this was something he needed to do in person, he’d already explained to his mom and he was glad Toby hadn’t said anything yet. For the first time in a long while Jim felt normal and happy.

“I mean seriously you’re back! And Human! How? Did Merlin reverse whatever he did? And the Heartstone I thought-” 

“One question at a time Tobes,” Jim laughed as he saw his mom sit opposite the couch, one eye glancing out of the window the way she did when expecting she was worried about something, a pang of guilt lanced his belly that he’d caused that.

“No Tobes, Merlin didn’t reverse what he did, he can’t, if he did it would kill me you can’t remake someone twice, at least I think that’s what he said, Binky’s probably the troll you should ask, but he did find something,” Jim took a breath, “Travelling to New Jersey was...hard we tried to stay underground as much as we could but that wasn’t always possible, Merlin helped with his magic but it still took awhile, especially making sure he and Claire had enough to eat it was easy for the rest of us, we were there in about a month. The hard part was finding the Heartstone, normally Trolls can find them pretty easily, it’s like they call out to us, even humans can sense it though not as strongly but this one, we couldn’t feel a thing, Merlin cast a spell to find it and it led to a small town, we couldn’t exactly wonder around during the day and the sewers we could use weren’t as extensive as the ones in Arcadia,” Jim did fell the tiniest bit guilty about the modifications he and the other trolls had done so they could find shelter.

“So Merlin started going over what he knew and the few books Blinky brought with him including the Book of Ga-Heul and he came up with something that could help. It allows me to walk in daylight,"

“I’d say it did more than that dude,”

Jim snorted, “Yeah, no. The spell he cast let me walk in daylight; I had to use a glamour mask to stay hidden,”

“Ewww, I feel for you dude...wait are you wearing a glamour mask now? You know Trolls are pretty much an open secret here you don’t have to hide who you are,” Toby’s worried face was nearly enough to be a downer for the TrollHunter, it was only his mom’s quiet support that didn’t send him into one of his depressive spirals.

“It wasn’t so bad, a bit stale, but we found it, had to run from the police a few times because school hadn’t let out yet but we found it. Only it wasn’t what we thought it was. There had been a Heartstone in New Jersey but it had, well, died, a long time ago, not like the one in TrollMarket,” he quickly moved to assure his friend, the only person in the room beside himself who’d seen it in all its glory, “More like...a plant I guess, instead of a Heartstone we found a HeartSeed,”

The room was silent, Toby’s mouth moving quietly as he tried to process what he’d been told, “W-wait, wait, wait, are you telling me the Heartstone is some kind of plant? Coral I could understand but a plant? I don’t know about you Jimbo but the Heartstone looked pretty crystal-like to me,”

“I don’t mean it like that Tobes, I mean,” he cast his mind around as he tried to think of something he could compare it to, “You remember those crystal growing kits you used to play with?”

“Yeah? Think I’ve still got a few if Chompsky and ARRRGH! didn’t find them. Wait you mean you can grow a HeartStone?”

“Sorta, Merlin thinks he can use it to heal TrollMarket’s HeartStone and encourage new gro-”

“Awesome Sauce! TrollMarket is back!” Toby went from sitting to jumping in the air like a flash, one fist raised as he cheered at the thought of TrollMarket being open once more for business.

Jim couldn’t help but smile at the joy his friend was showing, in their short time as TrollHunters, TrollMarket had become a second home for them, he still remembered Claire asking if she could live there as if it were yesterday, even his mom looked happier at the news though that might be the tears he could feel building behind his eyes.

“Jim?”

“Jim, buddy? You okay?” he wasn’t sure how Toby had gone from jumping on the couch to standing right next to him or his mom somehow appearing behind him, a comforting hand on his shoulder as he felt the tears fall down human skin, an alien sensation he’d never thought he’d feel again.

“I’m fine, I just....I just...” he didn’t know if it was his human or troll half that made it so difficult to open up about his feelings, though both Claire and Blinky had been helping him during their journey, according to them he’d always been like this, “...I never thought I’d be able to come home again,” a fresh wave of tears burst forth as he felt two of his most important people in the world embrace him in a hug.

“Jim. Honey you’ll always have a home here,”

“What she said Jimbo,” Toby murmured quietly from his shoulder.

“Tobes? Are you crying?”

A surprisingly strong and swift punch was his answer, “Of course I’m crying, my best friend forever leaves because of some stupid wizard and I thought I’d never see him again only to find him back home without a word? I’m allowed to cry!”  
“I’m so sorry Tob-” that was when Jim noticed something different about his friend, “Have you lost weight?”

That seemed to do the trick as Toby took a step back and puffed out his chest, “Finally hit my growth spurt, plus the patrols with ARRRGH! still got a lot of clean up to do from Gunmar’s army, ‘specially if we want to avoid attracting any Gruesomes, and you still haven’t told us how you’re human now,”

“Uh-Heh, right, remember when I said Merlin cast a spell that let me walk in daylight, well he had to recast it every morning when the sun rose so he looked for a more.....permanent solution and he found one based on Changelings,”

“Wait, so you’re a changeling now?”

“No, Changelings go from full Troll to full Human, I’m half troll and half human, plus I don’t have a familiar. Troll me is kinda my main look but I can shift into Human me for a while, it’s more.....” Jim tried to remember what exactly Merlin and Blinky had said about the spell, “It brings my human traits forward, the appearance is more for moving around unnoticed but it isn’t’ perfect, see,” he grinned widely showing off his teeth allowing Tony to see the elongated canines where his tusks were in Troll form, and he was pretty sure he could see small lumps just above Jim’s hairline where his horns would be.

“I can only maintain my human appearance for a ‘short’ time unless I really focus and that really takes up a lot of energy not to mention my eyes kinda glow when I’m really emotional the way Strickler’s did,”

“Wouldn’t a spell like this mean Trolls could live among humans without having to hide underground?” his mom asked.

Jim shook his head, “The spell’s based on Changeling magic, it only works on those with a direct human connection, it worked on me because I’m Half human, for regular trolls...they can use the daylight spell but that has to be constantly recast, not to mention it’s uncomfortable, like that tingly feeling when your leg falls asleep so they don’t really bother except in emergencies,”

“Will you be offering the spell to Changelings?” Toby asked as his mind immediately went to Strickler.

“Well yeah, Nomura’s already started spreading the word after she took it, pretty sure she’s going to look for Strickler once she’s got her job back at the museum, she genuinely liked working there,”

“Wow, pretty sure he’ll say yes, poor guy’s been dying to get back to teaching,”

“...yeah...” to be honest Jim wasn’t yet sure how he felt about his former teacher, the man had taken him under his wing shortly after starting school and been an odd, yet familiar father figure in his life, even after it was revealed he was working with Bular and than Angor Ror, he still respected the man even more so after their heart-to-heart during the Gravesand fiasco....

“Hey come on Jim, the guy’s not that bad, he’s been helping me and the Creepslayerz when he’s not dealing with the Familiar babies, I mean sure he tried to kill you and linked his life to your mom’s and tried to release an evil Troll Overlord into the world, but he’s really trying to make up for it, maybe you should give him a chance,”

“Toby’s right Jim, regardless of what he’s done in the past, at least offer him a choice,”

“Awww it’s not that, it’s just, he was....”

“He was what Jim?”

“He was my teacher Mom, for several years,”

Toby slapped him on the back, “Good ole’ Jimbo,” smiling to Dr Lake as she let out a chuckle at her son’s antics until he remembered why he’d first charged in.

“Meant to ask, why is there a broken plate on the floor?”

Jim immediately stopped his cringing as his face went red and Barabara chuckled once again, “You remember how I said I’m still Half Troll?”

“Yeah?”

“While I can eat Human food I also have to eat like a Troll and....” as he trailed off, embarrassed his mom chimed in.

“He started chewing the fork as well as the roast,”

“Let’s just say human teeth and gums aren’t ideal for eating metal okay,” the image that conjured was enough to set Toby off into peals of laughter, Barbara and Jim both joining in until tears once more streaked their faces, for the first time in while their small family was complete once more, and, they hoped, it would stay that way.


	3. Chapter 2 - I'm Back Arcadia

Jim had forgotten how comfortable his bed was as he softly grunted into his pillow, tusks gently chewing thin air as he slowly began to wake up, sure he could sleep on solid rock and be fine but there was nothing like his own bed.

He eyes sleepily blinked open as the morning sun poured through the window illuminating a room that had been untouched for over three months and somehow still intact after the war was ended. The memories of yesterday played gently behind his eyelids, him, his mom and Toby doing nothing more than just being together, sometimes talking, sometimes just...sitting, content in the others presence. ARRRGH! had come back as had Blinky along with Dictatious and Nana Domzalski, the two brothers tentatively getting along at the latter’s prompting supported by the former. Even Claire had quickly swung by with NotEnrique to say hi and check up on Jim, passing on a message to Toby to keep an eye him that she thought he didn’t notice. He knew why, on the surface everything appeared fine, he felt fine, relishing in the speed and strength his new form brought him, but he was still struggling to completely accept it. He thought he’d worked it out on the school roof only to realise that he still had so much more to figure out after they’d left Arcadia and he’d ignored it in favour of defeating Gunmar and Morgana, the necessity of the time pushing the deeper aspects of everything to the back of his mind only to surface once the adrenaline had worn off and he’d left his family and friends behind.

Claire had done her best to help him as had Blinky, even Merlin in his own, cryptic and annoying way, but he’d let himself run from his problems, he was always running, first he’d submerged himself into cooking the day his dad left when he was five, then going into the DarkLands alone to avoid his friends getting hurt and lying to his own mother to avoid her getting dragged into everything, each one, apart from the first had backfired on him, he’d hurt his friends by leaving them, his mom was dragged in anyway and even when she’d lost her memory she still managed to claw her way back in, and then he’d dedicated himself to being the best TrollHunter he could be and ignored his changed body, only acknowledging it when it was helpful or he was hungry.

He knew why Claire asked Toby for help, probably his mom to, he didn’t like it, but he understood and he was grateful for it, especially now that they were back together and he could feel himself getting better.

Jim took one last look around his room before closing his eyes and taking a long, deep breath, the faint musty smell of age, the honey scent of wood polish, even the smell of old magazines reached his sensitive nose as he zeroed in on them, eyes opening to see his old scooter magazines piled neatly on his desk. He ran his thick, four fingered hand over the glossy covers, a smile tugging at his lips as he remembered mornings waking up with one of them covering his face from where he’d drifted off to sleep while reading, to think his mom had kept these...

Another smell reached his nose and his stomach grumbled, reminding him yet again of just how much Trolls needed to eat especially ones as active as Jim. Deciding to follow his stomach he lightly, or as lightly as a being made of stone could, danced downstairs not quite able to contain the sheer joy of being home. He was surprised to find his mother in the kitchen and the smell of food coming from whatever it was she was trying make.

“Been practising while I was gone?”

“Oh Jim, good morn-” Barbara murmured as she tried to focus on where she’d gone wrong this time, turning slowly to greet her son only to find herself halting in surprise, “-trying a new look?” she paused when she saw an uncertain frown begin to appear on Jim’s face, “You’re usually dressed when you come down,” the frown still appeared but it was less fearful then before as his five fingered hand came up to feel his chest.

Jim froze as he felt stone-skin meet stone-skin, looking down his eyes widened as he saw his bare arms and torso, the only covering a pair of stretched boxers he vaguely remembered putting on the morning of his change.

Barbara recognised the signs of panic appearing on Jim’s face as he started jumping from foot to foot, arms moving wildly as they searched for armour that wasn’t there, fingers scrabbling madly against a powerful torso for the amulet of Merlin.

“Jim, calm down, panicking doesn’t get you anywhere,”

“B-but the amulet....the armour I need....”

“You need to calm down,” gently putting the bowl down she headed over to her son attempting to hug him only to jump back as his frantic search grew wilder.

“You don’t understand if something happens-”

“Nothing is going to happen, there are no Goblins, no Monsters-”

“But what if Gunma-” it was strange to see a teenager made of stone freeze appearing for all intents and purposes a statue as panicked eyes dilated into a calming realization, “Gunmar’s gone...”

“Yes Jim, Gunmar’s gone, you killed him and helped Toby and Claire defeat Morgana for good, you don’t have to be afraid all the time anymore, nothing is going to hurt you,”

“But the amulet-”

“Can wait until you’ve eaten,” Jim wanted to protest but found his stomach voicing its agreement with his mother, he felt heat rise to his cheeks as his mom turned and sauntered triumphantly back to the hob, frowning to herself as she tried to fix whatever she’d done wrong only to jump when a meaty blue finger reached over and dipped itself into the pan.

“Wow this is pretty good; you really have been practising,”

“You don’t need to lie to me Jim,”

“I’m not lying,” a second approach from the finger.

“Three months is enough to make you forget what human food tastes like?”

“Mom seriously it’s not like-” Jim cut himself off as he face palmed, a look of annoyed frustration on his face before he took a breath and relaxed, and started to glow. It was similar to how he’d looked when he’d shown her his transformation in the living room after getting her memory back, only dimmer, and not quite as dramatic as pale skin covered blue stone and his tusks shrank into slightly elongated but human teeth. It barely lasted a few seconds before a very human looking Jim stood before her, still clad in nothing but his underwear, it might have been the colour, or just that she’d never paid much attention to his physical appearance except when he was sick but even after everything they’d been through, she only now realised her little boy had grown up when she wasn’t looking.

A long, pale, human finger dipped into the pan and took a small gob of...whatever the breakfast had become before being sucked clean, a barely repressed grimace briefly appearing before another flash and Jim was a Troll again, the frown disappearing almost immediately.

“Let me guess, your form affects how things taste?” Barbara raised an eyebrow as she watched her son’s blue face colour purple.

“Yeah, sorta...”

“At least I know my cooking’s edible for Trolls,” she sighed as she glanced at the pan, “Looks like I’ll need to replace this one as well...” she brushed it aside and glanced miserably at the three eggs left before a gentle hand took hold.

“Let me Mom, you just relax, besides, not like I haven’t got choices,” Jim knew his attempt at humour was terrible but he was glad his mom at least smiled as she let go of the pan and moved to the breakfast bar, watching how Jim skilfully pulled out another pan and cracked all three eggs with one hand before throwing the shells into his mouth, eyes flicking back and forth in embarrassment at the unconscious action.

“I missed cooking in a kitchen, camping’s fun and all but you can’t do as much with food,”

“Must have sucked that you had to keep moving?”

“...Yeah...what sucked more was not knowing what was going on at home,” and that Barbara understood, texts and phone calls were fine in letting you know the other was alive but they didn’t really let you _know._

Determined to prevent Jim descending into a sour mood Barbara quickly changed the subject, as Jim placed one of his famous omelette’s in front of her “So what are your plans for today while I’m at work?”

“I was going to hang out with Tobes and Claire, see the town, what was happening, maybe drop by the school to see everyone...” he trailed off  glancing at his hand as his other brought her ruined pan to his mouth and began chewing.

“The school...? Jim, are you thinking about going back school now you’re back?” the half-troll teen shrugged, hurriedly taking another bite of pan and ruined omelette to avoid talking only to wilt under his mother’s stern face.

“It’s not like I graduated and I didn’t have the points like Claire,” Bite and chew.

“Jim, I will support you in whatever you decide to do, if that means going back to school or being a full time hero it’s your decision to make,” she stood and put a comforting arm around his shoulders, “Besides, at least this time there’s no potential threat to the world,” she grinned just as a beeping sound came from her bag.

“I’ve got to go or I’ll be late,” she quickly fished out some money from her purse and handed it to him, “Buy yourself some clothes, I doubt your old stuff will fit you anymore,” she paused at the door as she did a quick last minute check, “Oh and Jim, make sure you’re back by 6:30 okay there’s some things we need to talk about,” she smiled as she darted out the door.

“Mom?”

“Yeah honey?” her head popped round the door as she waited for him to say something.

“...It’s good to be home,” he smiled gently as his mom’s rushed expression faded into a calm smile.

“It’s good to have you home Jim,” with those words she left for the hospital leaving Jim to finish his pan and her mostly eaten omelette on the side, just another peaceful day in Arcadia.

..................................................................................................................................................................

His mom had been right about his clothes not fitting, even his baggiest top and trousers hadn’t stretched far enough to make him look anything other than some kind of ventriloquists dummy, in the end he’d resorted to raiding the supply of spare clothes his mom kept for when his grandfather visited, not that he’d been up for the past couple of years, and even then they were tight in places thanks to his troll-like physique. He had to beg off spending the morning with Tobes to get new ones, including underwear and shoes, a chore that took more time then he thought it would with the still ongoing repairs to Arcadia.

Truthfully it felt odd not to be in his armour; ever since he’d changed he hadn’t been able to take it off and now it had vanished, amulet and all, he’d turned his room upside down and back to front and there had been no sign of it and yet, for some reason, he wasn’t worried, he knew he’d have to talk to Merlin about it and he would, but he wanted a chance to feel normal, he couldn’t help but snort at the thought, too think barely a year ago he was wishing for something more than normal.

Arcadia Oaks High loomed over the street, considering it had been one of their main shelters during the battle it had come out surprisingly unscathed and the surrounding roads had quickly been cleared afterwards, though perhaps that wasn’t surprising considering it was one of the more central buildings in Arcadia.

Jim causally walked through the front gate relishing in the feeling of entering familiar territory much like he had after the Darklands. He spotted Toby through one of the windows, his head bowed as he focused on Ms Janeth’s maths sheet, stopping occasionally to scratch his head with his pencil. The sound of the bell took them both by surprise.

Jim felt his body tense at the sudden noise of the bell and the rush of classes quickly deserting their temporary prisons. Forcing himself to relax and ignoring the heat building in his chest he visibly calmed when he saw Toby casually ambling towards him.

“Hey Jimbo, ooh nice duds, you go shopping?”

“Ah-ha, yeah, none of my old clothes really fit,”

“What about your armour?”

“That’s kinda what I need to talk about,” Taking a deep breath he couldn’t help but be glad of the anonymity his human form provided, even if he did tower over most the students and teachers, “When I woke up this morning it was gone,”

“Gone, what do you mean gone?” Toby had the squinty eyes he often got before he panicked, “Heck ever since you changed I don’t think I ever saw you take it off,”

“That’s because I couldn’t, it was like it had welded itself to me...became a part of me or something, heck even on the way to New Jersey I couldn’t take it off, neither did Merlin now that I think about it,”

Toby sniffed, loudly, “Maybe he enchanted it to keep itself clean, I mean it’s not like you had much of a chance to really take care of it considering it disappeared into the amulet every time,”

“Toby!”

“What it’s a reasonable suggestion?”

“The Amulet’s gone Tobes!”

“And yet you’re not panicking,” the smaller boy pointed out.

“That’s what’s so weird, I can’t find it but it’s like I’m carrying it with me like I used to...and I don’t know what to do,”

“Have you talked To Merlin or Blinky about this?”

“I was going to head over to TrollMarket later to ask about it but I wanted.....” he shrugged distractedly.

“Hey, Arcadia’s not going to disappear or be sucked into some alternate dimension in a day,” that would have been more reassuring if he hadn’t just searched for a piece of wood to knock on, “I think the amulet disappearing is a little more important, besides I trust your instincts, if you’re not worried, I’m not worried, so it won’t take too long in TrollMarket,”

“I guess you’re right,”

“Young Atlas, good to see out and about,” a familiar British accent spoke up. The pair turned to see a very human Walter Strickler walking towards them, Senor Uhl heading towards his next class giving a respectful nod towards Jim.

“Mr Strickler, I’m guessing Nomura told you about...” he trailed off as he gestured to his new/old human form.

“Yes, and I must say I am most grateful for this, I never thought I’d miss the taste of staff room coffee,”

“Is that why you’re here? Just to thank me?”

“No, actually Senor Uhl gave me my old job back, I start tomorrow,”

“That was fast,” Toby chimed in as he watched the awkward standoff between the former teacher and former student.

“Yes, well, apparently he isn’t keen on more paperwork,” the changeling laughed softly as he unconsciously scratched at his arm.

“...good for you,” Jim finally said.

“Thank you Jim, I’m glad to see you’re alright and back in Arcadia,”

“Glad to be back,” the tall teen huffed as Toby started to fidget from impatience, Strickler noticed and seemed to realise what it meant.

“I take it something’s happened?” it was less a question and more a statement of fact, the slight worrying tone in his voice somehow conveying that Strickler realised more then he let on, “something to do with your current attire?”

Jim froze for a second before scratching his head right where his horns would be, “Yeah, we’re not really sure what but it’s just got me on edge,”

“I’m no expert, but I do know enough to know that the power granted by the amulet is connected to your emotional state, perhaps being back in Arcadia has something to do with it?”

Jim just shrugged, “You know Strickler might be onto something there, you haven’t been this relaxed since before Gunmar got out,” Toby, ever reliable Toby, added his own observation, “But just to be safe, maybe we should go see Merlin and get some answers, who knows what else his potion did,”

“That would be the sensible thing to do,” Strickler added.

“I’ll text Claire to let her know plans have changed,”

Jim just stared at the floor, lost in thought as he felt emotions running riot, his stomach churning as he felt his own fears and worries build, until it vanished when he felt a warm and familiar hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Strickler gazing at him in concern and he felt his heart flutter at the fatherly look he was getting, “You are strong man young Atlas, and I know you will find the answers you seek but never forget you have friends and family who _will_ support you, you are not alone in this,”

Jim wanted to smile and roll his eyes at how cliché his former teacher sounded but found himself oddly touched by the sentiment, instead letting his face fall into a relieved smile and the tension he didn’t know he’d been holding in his shoulders slipped away.

“Okay, Claire said she’d meet us at the Heartstone with ARRRGH! let’s go,” and with his usual tact Toby unknowingly, yet inevitably ruined the moment bringing Jim crashing back to Earth.

“I’ll inform your teachers some Troll Hunter business came up then,”

“Thanks Mr S.” Tobias called as he left through the school gate.

“Just don’t forget to pick up your homework,” even Jim laughed at the groan that followed, “Oh, and Jim, I will see you tonight,” he didn’t stick around to see the Troll Hunter’s reaction to his statement or the confused look he sent to his best friend, instead allowing the hallway door to close behind him as he made his way to his old office to finish the paperwork he needed to resume teaching.

The smell of thick tomes and wood filled his senses, along with the faint scent of nervous students that had him smiling to himself; oh it was good to be back.


	4. Chapter 3 - Revelations and Resolutions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit I'm not entirely happy with this chapter but I can't actually do much more to it until I fully know where I'm going with this so fair warning, it will probably be edited later

There was _knowing_ about the destruction of TrollMarket, and then there was _seeing_ the destruction of TrollMarket. The trio of Troll Hunters stood staring in shocked awe at the sheer devastation of a once bright and thriving community of Trolls, dwells were destroyed, walls gouged and crystal shards littered the ground among the piles of rubble that had once been living Trolls. Gunmar’s death hadn’t been limited to him alone but every one of his Gumm-Gumm followers and that wasn’t including the number of Trolls who’d been slain by the monstrous tyrant and his mistress.

The worst part was the HeartStone. The once proud and mighty monolith of a crystal lay dull and lifeless; the shards that once brought life and light to the greatest home of Troll Kind were grey and limp.

As the trio entered the dwell that had once been home to Vendel they couldn’t help but shudder, Jim, having shed his human guise when they arrived, felt his horns itch and hair stand on end while Toby unconsciously reached for his warhammer and Claire felt her fingers flex, longing for the familiar weight of her staff. The place held upsetting memories for all of them; the betrayal and death of Vendel; the site of Morgana’s ritual to bring Eternal Night, and of course, the site of Gunmar’s resurrection when he began draining the HeartStone of life.

They had expected Merlin, Blinky and ARRRGH! to be there, the former two working and watching over the crystal seed they’d found and believed would heal their HeartStone, what they didn’t expect was a ghost of a familiar looking woman garbed in Purple conversing with the older man until she noticed them.

“Well come Trollhunters,” the voice was musical and hauntingly familiar, somehow filling the room despite being so quiet.

“”Er Merlin who is-” Toby started only for the older man to silence him with a look.

“Troll Hunters, allow me to introduce you to Morgan Le Fey, and as it turns out the benefactor who provided the HeartSeed,”

Claire was the first one to react, eye widening in shock and fear as she placed the name and the voice, “Morgana!” that one word was enough to have the other two shifting into action, Toby finally activating his Warhammer while Jim lowered in a crouch ready to pounce, Troll instincts bubbling just beneath his skin.

“Wait,” it was only Merlin’s voice, and a burst of magic that prevented them from acting, “There is more you need to hear,”

“It’s alright Merlin, their caution is understandable considering the actions of Morgana,” the ghost lady raised a comforting hand to the Wizard before thinking better of it and facing the Troll Hunters, “Your companion is correct, I am, or rather was, Morgana, but Morgana was not me. I am unsure of how much Merlin has told you of our history, though knowing him he only told you what you needed to know in as cryptic a way as possible,” Blinky rolled his eyes at the obvious statement, three of them glaring at Merlin while the other three watched the Troll Hunters.

“I doubt it helped that his predictions were.....off,”

“Only by 14 years,” the Wizard interrupted.

“You forget Merlin that among Humans 14 years is a long time,” Le Fey shot him an annoyed glance before focusing on the team again, “You know the stories of King Arthur, and the role Merlin and I supposedly played. You learnt and experienced the hidden history of the Trolls and the battle between Merlin and Morgana at Killahead Bridge. What you do not know is the full story of how Morgana came to be.” She paused to watch the Trollhunters forced themselves to relax before continuing.

“Once, I was an ordinary human who stumbled into the world of the Fey and was taken in by them, with them I learned magic and encountered Merlin, the boy who would later become my teacher,” none of the group missed the way Merlin bristled at being referred to as ‘boy’, “He, among others taught me a great many things, but it was to him I looked for guidance and excitement. He had a particular fondness for humans and desired to see the divide between our two worlds closed, this desire led him to the man you would know as King Arthur,”

“Wait so there actually was a King Arthur?” Claire asked, her earlier distrust still there, but curious about what the two beings in front of her had to say.

“Yes, in fact there were many King Arthurs, you see Merlin, and later myself, were punished for interfering so heavily in human affairs, sentenced to live as humans. This is when Morgana began to appear,”

“So Morgana wasn’t you?” Toby had to ask, the tension was getting to him and he could feel Jim’s rising agitation at their inaction, the war between his human heart and troll instincts he had yet to fully master.

“She was, yet she also wasn’t. The two of us, along with Arthur, lived and repeated the cycle three times, alas, where Merlin was able to see the good in humans each time, I did not. Every cycle when I learned I possessed magic, my jealousy and desire for power grew, I started to dabble in magicks no human should meddle with, and it took hold of me. My hate and greed consumed me, and Morgana was born.

“There is more to Morgana’s treachery than you may know; she sowed the seeds for the divide between Humans and Trolls, two of Merlin’s favourite creatures as you already know but she perverted his magic to create Changelings, and corrupted a HeartStone to create Gunmar; she also sowed discontent between many others, the Fae as a whole were divided having ignored Merlin’s predictions of a coming catastrophe. Many fled to Avalon and sealed themselves away, those that remained, the pixies, and few fairies, warred with each other until the latter was wiped out,”

“Avalon....like Merlin’s Staff?” Toby asked, his Warhammer now back in his bag as he reached to place a calming hand on Jim’s shoulder, trying desperately to keep his fears to himself when he felt how tense the stony limb was.

“The Staff of Avalon was named after the Isle shortly before they sealed themselves away, a way to remember my homeland and to better channel the arcane energies of the universe,” The old wizard explained, “There is power in names Tobias, some more than others, the only reason I didn’t tell you this was because you weren’t ready, we had a war to win and then you had lives to live,”

Morgan frowned, an odd look considering they could only see vague outlines of her features, “I feel I must apologize for his...tact, Merlin was rarely the best at comforting others,”

“I was not that bad,” he harrumphed.

The ghost witch said nothing but her expression said it all as she shook her head, “With Morgana in control I too was sealed in Avalon, unable to intervene with her growing power and the devastation she caused as she targeted the Trolls, it is only with her defeat and the fact that she was imprisoned here for so long that I am able to make myself known to you across the void through the seed I had planted so long ago,”

“Seed? You mean you put the HeartSeed in New Jersey?” Jim growled.

“Yes, Heartstones are an ancient creation, around long before Merlin and even the court of Avalon, but they hold great power. I do not claim to understand them only that they can grow and heal and that one would be needed should Morgana be freed,”

“You knew?” Claire asked, none of the memories she had from Morgana referenced to any kind of foresight.

“While Merlin is naturally gifted with foresight, there are other methods, and there are times when magic itself will provide hints as to what is to come, I was given one such gift, to find a CrystalHeart and to place it in what would become New Jersey to ensure that a catastrophe of epic proportions would not occur,”

“That doesn’t really explain why you’re here,” Toby pointed out.

Morgan chuckled, “I am here to help Merlin in restoring the TrollMarket HeartStone, even with his knowledge and magic it will be a long and difficult process, though I am also here to thank you TrollHunters for defeating Morgana and returning me to myself,” She bowed, a gentle smile on her face, even Jim was finding himself calming down until her figure flickered and a worried look replaced it.

“My time here grows short, I will return to assist TrollHunters, but for now my focus must return to Avalon,” as she started to fade she glanced once more at Merlin, “Do not take everything he says to heart. Remember he means well but sometimes forgets that you must focus on the small things as well as the big ones,” with that the ghost vanished.

“Soooo.....that happened,” Toby said dumbly.

“Do you believe she was being sincere?” Jim asked.

Merlin sighed and nodded, “.....Yes, while I may have warred with Morgana, the worst Morgan Le Fey and I have done is quarrel, to know that part of her survived Morgana’s takeover is of great relief to me, her skill as an Enchantress is second to none and I will need her help if we are to restore the HeartStone here in TrollMarket,”

He turned to face the trio, “So what brings you three here, I would have thought you would be outside with our young TrollHunter as he enjoys the sun,”

The trio shifted nervously glancing at each other and then towards a curious look Blinky and ARRRGH! while Merlin watched silently with an expectant gaze.

Jim stepped forward, one hand brushing through his hair, nimbly avoiding his horns, “The Amulet’s missing,”

Gasps of shock came from the Trolls while Merlin waited, “And?”

“‘And?’ what, isn’t that enough? The amulet’s gone and I can’t summon the armour, what if goblins or leftover Gumm-Gumms attack,”

Merlin sighed as if expecting them to have already figured out the answer, “Young Jim, I’m sure by now you’ve noticed that the armour responds to your emotional state, a lot of magic does actually, to better attune its purpose with the user. You may have also noticed that ever since you chose to fight Gunmar and Morgana and used the potion I gave you, you have been in your armour 24/7 and only now have you returned home knowing it’s safe, the only major problem being the occasional rouge gnome or Gruesome,”

Jim couldn’t help but flash back to when he had first become the TrollHunter and had asked Blinky why his armour disappeared.

“So you’re saying my armour disappeared, because I feel safe? But what about the Amulet?”

Merlin sighed, less in frustration and more in....something else, it reminded Jim of time he’d actually sat down and explained the explained the choices before him, regret, resignation and a sense of finality that even he couldn’t fight.

“The Elixir I gave you was designed to bring out the full potential of the amulet and the TrollHunter, in doing so, it fused with you, becoming a part of you, the reason you can’t find the amulet is that it is now a part of you,”

“But doesn’t that mean there’ll be no more TrollHunters?” Toby asked, his hands once more clutching his Warhammer in worry.

“The war with Morgana is over, the amulet’s purpose fulfilled, that does not mean the line of TrollHunters has ended however, simply that the need for them is less,”

“That.....explains nothing at all,” Toby frowned turning to face Jim and Claire to see matching confusion.

Merlin chuckled, “The Amulet does not a TrollHunter make, it merely released your potential and allowed you to become the hero you were meant to be, just look to your friends,”

Jim felt a vague understanding dawn as he looked at the small group of people who’s assembled in the dwell, the light from the HeartSeed giving them a soft glow, he couldn’t say he fully understood what Merlin meant, but he felt that he was beginning to, if worst came to worst he could probably ask Claire she was good with riddles after all.

“But, if it’s a focus you need there is something I can do,” Merlin proclaimed, quickly waving one hand and plucking what looked like a thinner version of the amulet from Jim’s breast, “It’s power is still very much inside you, but this will help you use it until you can master it on your own, just don’t lose it,”

“...Thank you Merlin,”

“No young TrollHunter, thank you. You have helped this old man end a war that was millennia old and united two worlds and somehow you have managed to keep the Heart that made you so ideal to be the TrollHunter,”

Jim nodded a small smile on his face as he fingered the thin piece of metal, turning slowly to leave.

“Wait, is that it I thought....nevermind,” Toby shrugged to himself and turned to join his friend, Claire smiling indulgently at his little performance while Blinky and ARRRGH! returned to their own little reunion and Merlin focused on the HeartSeed.

They’d nearly left the dwell when the wizard spoke up, his voice calm but carried a sense of foreboding Jim wasn’t sure he liked.

“Just because Morgana is gone does not mean the world does not need a TrollHunter,” Jim froze, head half-turned in the doorway, “While we were in New Jersey I saw something. There is a darkness brewing in the East, not on Morgana’s level but if left unchecked, it could spell disaster for all we have worked for,”

“...What do I need to do?”

“For now? Nothing, you might be the TrollHunter but you need not to concern yourself with every little thing that’s happening in the world, it doesn’t hurt however to be prepared,”

Jim nodded in understanding, for once allowing the weight of the responsibilities he shouldered to fall and spend some quality time with his family.


	5. Chapter 4 - Family Dinners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might be doing a side piece for this, a series of drabbles and one-shots about events hinted in this that didn't quite fit the main story so keep an eye out, it might take a while seeing as I'm focusing on this first

Jim couldn’t help but laugh as Toby relayed stories about what had happened while he was away; the current betting pool in school as to when Eli and Steve would officially be a couple instead of just ‘Creepslayer’ partners; he told him how Mary and Darci had joined and how they helped him and ARRRGH! with TrollHunter duties; He told him how the town was dealing with the sudden influx of familiar babies, and how some people were doing their best to ignore what had happened, pretend Trolls, Wizards and Monsters didn’t exist.

“Wait, wait,” Jim managed to choke out, “Steve went through Mervin’s leftover stock and took a one the rocks into school?”

“It was the Infernal Hell Heaton all over again,” Toby chuckled, “But in his defence he couldn’t read Troll, heck I can still barely read Troll,”

They paused on the porch outside Jim’s home, “I’m glad you’re okay Tobes,” Toby wasn’t sure what was happening as Jim crouched down and pressed his head against his, eyes closed, his horns seeming to thrum, the vibrations travelling down Toby’s spine. There was something powerful and intimate about the gesture that Toby was loath to interrupt.

“I’m glad you’re okay to,” Jim let out a breath before standing straight, a faint flicker of blue light covering his body as his human form took over.

“Ah-ha, sorry about that, Troll instincts,” he bashfully rubbed the back of his head.

“Don’t worry about it Jimbo, besides, it suits you,” his gaze flicked over his friend’s appearance, “Looking forward to a human dinner?”

“I’ve been looking forward to it all day,” the door swung open, “Mom, I’m home, sorry I’m late we got caught up at-”

“SURPRISE!” the sudden noise had Jim jumping back in shock, eyes wide as he took in the sight before him. The living room was stuffed full of people, Claire and her family stood side by side with his mom and Nana Domzalski. Steve, Eli and several others Toby had told him all helped him and the Creepslayerz, even detective Scott was there with the mayor, Strickler and Nomura, both in human form not to mention ARRRGH!, Blinky, Dictatious, NotEnrique and even Merlin was there.

Toby’s quiet voice spoke up from behind, “Surprise Jimbo, we thought this would be a good way to say...Welcome Home,”

“You guys....” Jim felt his eyes water as a smile spread across his face, his mom coming forward, for once in jeans and a plain top instead of her doctor’s scrubs.

“I’m glad you’re back Jim,” wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

“Glad to be back Mom,” he said returning he hug and resting his forehead against hers briefly, ignoring the ‘aww’s coming from his unexpected audience.

The party lasted for some time into the night, many of his schoolmates curious about his ability to switch between human and troll, while the adults welcomed him back like some kind of war hero, considering what Arcadia had been through they weren’t that far off, though he still felt awkward when people actually acknowledged it, so much time spent keeping what he did a secret made it weird to have everyone know about it, even more so now they also knew he wasn’t completely human, though apparently he wasn’t the only one,

“Wait Aja and Krel are Aliens?” Jim whisper yelled after choking on his water.

“Show him Eli,” Toby said, the skinny, glasses wearing teen stepped forward, a Polaroid in clutched in one hand.

Jim’s eyes widened as he looked at the image of two, four armed glowing figures on a roof he recognised as being near Toby’s house, “There are aliens in Aracadia....”

Then there were the more mundane conversations and somehow managing to maintain some kind peace between his Mom and Merlin, the red haired doctor had never quite forgiven the wizard for what he had thrust upon her son. The strangest part was seeing how close she and Strickler were, he knew they’d bonded during her amnesia and the battle but they seemed a little...too close. It didn’t come out until ARRRGH! tripped over a chair and the resulting crash had the high pitched cries of a baby screaming upstairs.

He noticed the way both is Mother and Strickler tensed, the older man placing a calming hand on her shoulder, “I’ll take care of it, you should probably....” he trailed off when he caught Jim’s gaze, his mom following, nodding her head as her mouth thinned with determination. As if by some unspoken cue the other guests started to hastily make their excuses to leave, the last being Toby and Claire as his mom led him to the dining room table waiting for him to sit before taking the chair opposite.

“So you and Strickler.....”

“After you left.....there was so much that needed doing-”

“Mom I’m sorr-” she lifted up a hand to stop him.

“It’s not your fault Jim, but I need to say this,” she took a deep breath, “There was a lot that needed doing after you left, the hospital was overrun and we were getting new injuries every day for weeks from damaged buildings and dead Gumm-Gumms,” it eased something in Jim’s heart that she said Gumm-Gumms and not Trolls, “on top of that we had to hide the existence of Trolls and Gnomes from anyone not from Arcadia and find homes for the thousands of familiar babies. Walt had a much harder time, with everything coming out into the open and him unable to change into his human form, he was stuck inside during the day and hiding  from those who blamed him for his part in things. We talked; we talked a lot, about everything that happened, changeling history the whole Gunmar angle...a lot of it made sense.

“I’m not saying I agree with his actions, but it made sense, I guess...after a while we just fell back into old patterns, as for the baby.....there were so many and, I missed you Jim, I missed having someone else around the house so I offered to take one in. The one I ended up taking in was Walt’s familiar,” the two sat in silence for a while, both wishing they’d poured a drink or something just to keep their hands occupied.

“Mom I.....it’s not that I don’t like Strickler, after everything that’s happened.....he and Nomura really helped when it came to protecting Arcadia, and yeah I know why he did what he did but I.....I guess.....everything’s changing and.....I feel like I’m being left behind, that I’ll wake up and everything I know will be gone.....that I’ll recognise them but they won’t know me.....” Jim’s mouth moved but no sound came out as his eyes glistened, his form flickering between Human and Troll.

Barbara stood, the chair scraping the floor as she moved to comfort her son, gently pulling him up to avoid the uncomfortable twisting feeling the chair would inflict. Large hands folded around her back, holding her close as she rested her head against mercifully un-armoured shoulders as violent, wet sobs shook their bodies, tears splashing onto her shoulders as she gently rocked her son, something she hadn’t done since Jim was little, something she didn’t know she’d missed being able to do. She’d introduce him to his step-brother tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 5 - An Unpleasent Visit

The next few weeks in Arcadia were.....surprisingly pleasant, at least according to Jim. Merlin was still working on healing the HeartStone, he knew the process would be long, and arduous but he still kept going, refusing to be defeated with the occasional visit from Morgan Le Fey to aid him and tell him more of what happened to Avalon. Blinky continued to lead the Trolls in rebuilding, focusing first on the Heroes Forge only to find it virtually untouched by Gunmar’s forces and surprisingly well maintained in their absence by Eli, Steve and Toby, who admitted to using it to train after they’d left having nowhere else really suitable, though they’d left the mechanics alone after an ill thought accident when Steve wanted to see how hard it really was.

ARRRGH! still stayed with Toby despite no longer needing the protection, though the two often mediated between Blinky and Dictatious whenever they were in the same room. Jim meanwhile tried to adapt back into a regular human life despite his mother’s protests against ignoring his Troll half, the lack of any major need for help making him restless and irritable until ARRRGH! finally took him in hand with a wrestling match that destroyed the back yard.

Claire was looking towards colleges already, her early graduation giving her more free time then she was used to and had her seriously contemplating going back to school to further her options, though the thought of returning to an everyday life as if the past year hadn’t happened was extremely unappealing to the young girl. Not to mention her boyfriend was starting to fray at the edges, the lack of action and the fact that he still hadn’t fully come to terms with his transformation becoming clearer everyday as he spent more and more time staying in human form unless in TrollMarket or tackling the occasional rogue gnome, the extra speed and strength coming in handy, unless it involved Senor Uhl’s new truck.

It had gotten so bad they’d been forced to stage an intervention after he collapsed from refusing to meet his Troll needs. It had also led to the discovery that baby Wally, his new step-brother, loved his Troll form often reaching up to grab his horns and play with his hair, the infant sleeping far better in Jim’s room than his new mother’s, much to her delight considering her work schedule was still as hectic as always the clinic still understaffed and people still coming in about monsters in the shadows forcing her to work long into the night.

The group did keep an eye on Aja and Krel in case anything seriously bad happened, mostly through Toby and the CreepslayerZ, a difficult task considering they didn’t want them to know they were watching them.

Now it was summer vacation, and Jim was trying to decide whether he wanted to return to school. Barbara was at work, Strickler was taking Wally for a walk, and Claire was spending the day with Mary and Darci while Toby was working with ARRRGH! on some kind of project he refused to tell Jim about.

Jim looked at the papers on his desk and groaned, head falling forwards as his hands reached to grasp at his horns in frustration. He knew he wasn’t the best student, but his grades had taken a major hit when he started Troll Hunting, and virtually disappearing from school after the battle with Gunmar certainly wouldn’t help him in the future despite his own teachers offering him what help they could and guaranteeing he’d be able to start Junior year instead of repeating Sophomore, Strickler had even taken to giving him supplementary lessons to give him more time to make a decision instead of going to Summer School.

He flung himself backwards, his chair creaking dangerously at his weight as he felt his mind start to turn to mush, the lessons he’d had on Troll History and Culture blurring dangerously with regular Human history, so many parallels and connections that only proved how connected their two worlds were. He nibbled on a fork his mother had left for him if he didn’t feel like human food, there was something comforting at chewing the tines and not worry about hurting his teeth and gums, almost like chewing a pen but without the inky mess afterwards and with added nutritional value.

Maybe a walk would do him some good, meander down to TrollMarket, train in the Forge, anything but try and focus on mind-numbing papers he hadn’t made up his mind about.

The doorbell rang.

The sudden noise in the otherwise silent house was enough to snap Jim out of his thoughts, head snapping up sending the half-chewed fork clanging to the floor. With swift and practised movements Jim moved for the door switching to his human form. Everyone he knew had a key and would only bother knocking to let people know someone was there, only strangers rang the bell, not to mention it wasn’t locked.

Cautiously walking down the steps as he tried to figure out who it was and if they’d seen him at the window, he didn’t see anyone drive up. He lifted his five fingered hand to open the door, making sure his four fingered one was suitably hidden without it seeming suspicious. Even people who knew what happened still stared at it, curious as to why it was still that way in Human form.

The door swung open to reveal a tall, pale man with recently cut hair and an aristocratic beard and moustache wearing new, if odd looking, clothes, the majority covered by a long leather jacket that reeked of money as Jim’s nose could attest to, the scent of the leather appealing to both sides. Something about the man was familiar but Jim couldn’t quite place it.

“Er, I’m looking for the Lake residence?” the man clearly wasn’t from Arcadia, his British accent giving him away and stronger than he could recall Strickler’s ever being.

“Yes?” the man wouldn’t meet his eyes, his own grey orbs switching between the door frame, space just by his shoulder and the ground, Jim could already feel his hackles rising at the potential threat.

The pair stood in the doorway for several minutes, one refusing to meet the eyes of the other while he looked down at the stranger on his porch fighting his instincts to take him out. The stranger took a breath, his barely perceptible fidgeting come to a standstill as he finally raised his head, grey eyes meeting blue and widening in surprise.

“James...?”

Jim resisted the urge to step back, his ears perked up and his hair stood on end at the name no one used unless he was in trouble, “How do you know my name?” a low growl crept out of his throat, apparently going unnoticed by the man in front of him.

“It’s been a while, you’ve gotten big....”

“Who are you?” the growl was louder this time yet it still went ignored.

“It’s been a long time Junior,” Jim froze, eyes widening as his pupils narrowed into slits, he could feel his form threatening to switch. Only one person had _ever_ called him Junior.

He slammed the door shut before the man could utter another word, scrambling at the locks before racing for the back door and escaping into the forest behind his home, his mind focused on a single location that he hoped would quell this rage he felt inside.

..................................................................................................................................................................

Jim’s entrance into TrollMarket was noticed by everyone, The TrollHunter’s armour glowing a bright red as he passed the main portal, his mane of hair standing on end like an angry cat and his horns somehow appearing sharper than before as he narrowed normally kind blue eyes into seething slits of anger.

He was oblivious to Toby and ARRRGH! quickly hiding something in Blinky’s library, he ignored the trolls and gnomes who jumped out of his way as he charged down the main street towards the Forge ignoring their curses and exclamations as some had to take creative measures to avoid being trampled.

All TrollMarket knew was that their TrollHunter was angrier then he had ever been and he wanted to destroy something. The echoes from the Forge carried far and wide as the inhabitants heard the sound of the mechanisms squealing in protest and the destruction of combat dummies meeting their doom at the end of blade and fist.

Toby and ARRRGH! were the only two brave enough to enter, the pair cautiously making their way to the gate to watch as Jim decimated wave after wave of dummy opponents, the slashes wild and without focusing on anything other destruction.

“Something wrong,” ARRRGH! murmured.

“Yeah no kidding,” Toby pulled up his trousers as he prepared to march towards his angry friend, “Leave him to me,”

The short teenager carefully made his way towards his friend occasionally forced to dodge a stray piece of flying stone and wood as Jim’s swings became increasingly wilder and more desperate.

“Er hey, Jimbo, whatcha doing there?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” another swing had Toby narrowly avoiding chunk of stone by falling to the floor.

“Ooookay, can you tell me why?”

“Why? WHY? Why does he think he can come waltzing back here?”

“He? He who? Strickler? I thought you got on with h-”

“Not Strickler!” a powerful slash cleanly split several dummies in two only for them to be replaced with others.

“Oh, okay, so who is this he?”

Jim didn’t answer, more focused on his blade as moving dummies replaced the old ones, “That son-of-a-bitch who calls himself my Father!” Toby was forced to back away as yet more moving opponents sprung up as if mentally summoned, his eyes wide at the curse his friend made, even ARRRGH! had gone stiff. Jim never swore, no one had ever called him on his language no matter how mad he got, even Gunmar and Angor Rot had never given him cause to curse though Toby was iffy about Merlin and Morgana, there were certainly a few choice names he had wanted to call both of them but kept quiet.

Toby quietly, and quickly, made his way back to ARRRGH! realising his friend needed to vent more of his rage before he’d be in any mood to listen.

“What’s wrong?” ARRRGH! asked, green eyes fixed on Jim in worry.

Toby took a deep breath to prepare himself, this wouldn’t be easy to talk about, “.....Something that’s been a long time coming,”

ARRRGH!’s gaze switched to his wingman, confused at the resigned, expectation in his tone.

“You remember Jim’s 16th when I told you his dad left?” ARRRGH! nodded, “Jim.....never really reacted, I mean you’ve seen him, he doesn’t get mad easy and he always puts other people first. Heck he went into the Darklands alone to try and protect us; he lied to his mom to protect her; he risked his neck to save Trolls and people we didn’t think deserve saving, that’s just who he is, it’s why the amulet chose him,” Toby breathed again.

“When Jim was five his dad walked out on him, but he didn’t get upset. I know he was close to his dad then, what five year old isn’t? But Jim just acted like it was any other day as if his dad had just been called into work and would be home anytime. He only really showed any kind of worry when his mom broke down, up until then the two of them had handled it, sure they weren’t happy but they weren’t a mess. But when Dr. Lake broke down crying and was given leave, Jim didn’t get mad or cry, he just focused on his mom, made sure she was alright, that she ate well and got on with life. Everyone watched him for weeks afterwards wondering when he’d break down and cry or yell, but he never did.

“When I finally realised my parents were never coming back, Jim was there for me. For a long time I was mad that they’d gone on that cruise, but he helped me through it, he let me cry into his shoulder, snot and all until I just couldn’t cry anymore. Jim didn’t comment on his dad once. For years afterward everyone wondered when it would happen, when would Jim Lake turn into a god-awful mess? But he never did. Eventually he just told people he didn’t really think of the guy, just that he walked out on his fifth birthday and hurt his mom, that he didn’t really feel anything towards the man. I was his best friend and I believed him, what did I know I wasn’t even ten then?” Toby’s brown eyes gazed out longingly at his best friend as he started hacking at stone with such ferocity he was surprised it wasn’t already a toothpick.

“As I got older, I realised that Jim was doing what he always did; putting others first and not burdening them with his problems. I knew it wasn’t healthy I’d already done it until he confronted me, but Jim.....he didn’t, what was I supposed to do I wasn’t an expert and I didn’t want to lose my only friend. I guess I was just waiting for the day it’d become too much and I’d just try and be there for him,”

“Do or do not, there is no try,” ARRRGH! said solemnly.

“Heh, guess you finally watched those Star Wars DVDs huh?”

“Star Wars?”

Toby gazed fondly at his giant, furry friend before looking back to Jim, the Half-Troll finally losing momentum as ugly, great sobs wracked his body, Eclipse digging into the ground, “Guess you’re right Wingman,” with that he marched over to his friend, one short arm stretching as far as it could to wrap around his shoulders as he sank to the ground, a heavy, horned head resting awkwardly on his as the Forge returned to dormancy, the few spectators that had gathered in the galleries dispersing as they recognised the sight before them as one that demanded and deserved privacy.

ARRRGH! was about to go when Blinky and Merlin quickly marched up to him.

“What happened? Is Master Jim in trouble?” Blinky worriedly demanded, his own feelings causing him to panic for the boy he couldn’t help but view as a surrogate son.

“What has happened to our TrollHunter?” Merlin was much calmer, though even he couldn’t hide his concern as he looked at the hunched pair of Toby and Jim.

ARRRGH! took a moment to look at the site, one strong arm rising to stop Blinky from rushing forward to try and help in his own, unorthodox manner, “What needed to happen,” he said, his head nodding with a sense of finality the scholar couldn’t argue with.

Merlin seemed to understand better then the studious Troll, “I see. Come Blinkous we’ve got a HeartStone to heal,” the wizard walked out with his usually sense of dignity, ARRRGH! following behind with a jittery Blinky shooting worried looks back towards his charge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning for the following chapters for those worried abotu character bashing. It might seem like it but I assure you it isn't, it's just being told from Jim's point of view and he doesn't have the best impression of his dad so for all you Sirius lovers out there it's nothing personal it's just how the TrollHunters know him


	7. Chapter 6 - It's Been a Long Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to mysterywriter5775 and goddoggo for their advice with tagging and posting

It had been a long time since Sirius Black had last stepped foot in Arcadia. The last time, nearly thirteen years ago when he left his fiancé and five year old son to help his friends in the war against Voldemort.

He still remembered when he’d first come here, a young graduate of Hogwarts eager to explore the world and spite his parents. The war hadn’t been too bad then; he was able to afford the luxury of leaving the country spreading the word to try and recruit help, regularly writing to the other Marauders about his visits, though only James got the full details. The state of California was the perfect place as far as he was concerned; warm, sunny weather; beautiful scenery and not just the wildlife and a magical community that blended with the Muggle world far more than any other state or country that he knew of making it the perfect place to piss off his parents.

He hadn’t expected to fall in love with a muggle medical resident he met outside a bar, but her beauty, charm and feisty nature made it difficult for him not to. James’s foolish behaviour around Lily in their later years suddenly made so much sense. They hadn’t hit it off at first, he’d surrounded himself with beautiful people and flirted with everyone, the only one who hadn’t melted like putty in his hand had been a red-headed young woman with pair of squared glasses smudged with fingerprints from long nights of work and study.

The prankster smiled as he remembered the challenge it had been just to get her to agree to a single date with him. Smart, feisty and beautiful, what more could he have dreamed of? Not even a year later more was exactly what he got when she gave birth to their son, a beautiful little boy with a thick head of black hair, large blue eyes and a smile that could make the sternest of hearts melt.

Sirius thought his life was blessed and that it would continue to be so perfect....until the war intruded. As far as Barbara knew he worked in an Investigations company that allowed him to travel a lot for work, he’d thought he could keep his personal life out of the war, seven years of ruling Hogwarts had made him think he was invincible, that he could truly have it all. The war had put an end to that dream.

Sirius never told Barbara about the magical world, he introduced her to his friends, even made James the Godfather, the Potter scion had been thrilled to learn he’d named his son after him and disappointed when Lily wouldn’t let him do the same citing something about one Sirius being too much already. Perhaps it had been the secrecy that caused the first cracks to form.

Barbara didn’t like being lied to, and keeping something like this from her necessitated a lot of clever story telling. None of his friends had a problem with it, apparently a lot of muggle-born parents had perfectly happy relationships, the only hiccough being the Hogwarts letter when their child turned 11 but they usually calmed down after explaining themselves, or so they believed anyway, even Lily hadn’t insisted he tell her.

As the war grew worse and Sirius had to travel back to the UK more and more, things steadily grew worse, though they hid it from their son, and each other, as best they could no one could mistake the growing tension between them. It finally came to a head when he heard that the Potter’s had been targeted and he had to leave to save his friends that he told her everything. She hadn’t reacted well.

In hindsight he could have handled it a bit better as well, but he was forced to obliviate her and leave, determined to come back and fix his mistakes. Finding his brother in arms dead along with his wife had put an end to that as the infamous Black madness took over, made even worse when Hagrid argued that Dumbledore was the better man to take baby Harry. Sirius had even believed him.

A dozen years in Azkaban had nearly robbed him of all hope, his mind focused on revenge against the traitorous Wormtail until he saw the picture in the Prophet. Now he was happy once again, he’d finally met his godson properly, and while he may still be a wanted criminal he had hope that one day his name would be cleared and he could take Harry in, maybe even introduce him to his god-brother, his old attitudes coming back with full force now he was no longer surrounded by soul sucking monsters and armed once more with a wand.

He breathed in deep the Arcadian air, frowning slightly. Something was different, and while he had expected it after more than a decade of change, it was disconcerting. When he had first come here there had been a strange, yet pleasant feel to the air that made him want to put a skip in his step, a feeling that everyone who came here could feel, if it wasn’t for that, he’d almost call it magic. But now that feeling was, not gone, but lessened. There was still a faint tingle, ever so faint that it might not even be there, but there was also an aftertaste sensation like burnt toast at the back of the throat or scorched ozone.

Then there was the town itself. The people were friendly enough but they all glanced at him with wariness, he didn’t feel unwelcome, it was more like they were assessing him, seeing if he was a threat, which was ridiculous of course, they were just muggles, they didn’t know anything about the magical world and he was pretty sure his name hadn’t spread far outside of the UK. But it still put him on edge, made even worse by what he wanted to do.

He’d done his research, he’d looked up every Dr. Lake he could in the Los Angeles area, eliminated those who weren’t women and didn’t have red hair before finding one Doctor Barbara Lake, a resident in the town of Arcadia who worked tirelessly at the local hospital, along with her son (Had Sirius been as adept with Muggle technology and society as he boasted, he would have known that strange things had happened in Arcadia and that James Lake Jr. had virtually disappeared from official records, alas, no resident of the magical world, even muggleborns, knew as much of their counterparts as they liked to believe.)

His search had led him here, a two storey house with wooden cladding and a garage on the side. Barbara had done well for herself he would admit that. Sirius swallowed thickly, unsure of what her mind had decided had happened after he cast obliviate. Taking a breath to steel himself Sirius strode forward searching for the Gryffindor courage he was supposedly renowned for, his mind going over plans on what to say and do to both of them, he was confident his son would have magic, he was his son after all, but would he go to Hogwarts or would he have to settle for Illvermorny? How would Barbara react? By Wizarding law he had the right of it but Barbara was a Muggle, but she must have had to get used to magic by now Junior would be 17.....17, he’d be graduating soon.....

He pressed the doorbell, the sound echoing loudly in his ears.

It wasn’t until he glimpsed a shadow in the glass that he heard the quiet footsteps approaching. He felt his eyes widen, this was too soon, he wasn’t ready he needed to-.

The door opened.

There were many things Sirius expected to have changed while he’d been away, the 7 foot tall man in the doorway was not one of them. Sirius felt what little courage he had desert him, Barbara had moved on.....no, he couldn’t think like that, maybe she’d just moved house and he was getting rusty.

“Er, is this the Lake residence?” what little bravery he had left threatened to desert him once again as he tried to get his eyes to still and focus on one place instead of darting about like a frightened rabbit.

“Yes?” the man’s voice was younger than he expected, especially considering the imposing frame of its owner, a pair of jeans stretched tightly around strong legs and a loose jacket that emphasised his strong upper body and arms with a casual ease that suggested it truly was by accident rather design.

Maybe this wasn’t a new man....a house sitter that was a thing Muggles did? Had she gone on holiday? Or maybe he was some student looking to earn some money or.....Sirius’s brain stuttered to a halt as another thought entered his mind. Steeling his resolve, the escaped convict looked up, grey orbs meeting with the beautiful, deep blue eyes he’d inherited from his mother.

“James.....?” his son had grown, if he didn’t know better he’d say he was part giant.

“How do you know my name?” Sirius didn’t miss the way he took a step back, eyes narrowed.....had someone tried to hurt his son?

“It’s been a while, you’ve gotten big.....” he couldn’t help but trail off as gazed at his son in wonder, the reality of seeing him in the flesh finally catching up with him. Sirius felt a spark of hope grow in his breast and thought that, maybe, everything would work out alright.

“Who are you?” did his son just growl at him, oh he would kill whoever had hurt his son.

Sirius felt himself smile, “It’s been a long time Junior,” Sirius might have expected a surprised ‘Dad?’ or even an ‘It can’t be....’ he did not expect the look of horror on his son’s face before he slammed the door shut, the entire house rattling with the force of it.

Sirius must have stood there like an idiot for at least ten minutes, his mind focused on one thing, ‘what just happened?’

..................................................................................................................................................................

The small city of Arcadia had changed greatly in the short amount of time since Gunmar’s attack and Morgana’s attempt to bring about the Eternal Night. The supernatural was now widely accepted as fact, though many pretended they knew nothing about it but they no longer ran screaming at the sight of something odd, those sights usually being a Troll who’d drunk a little too much Glugg or an unfortunate rock enthusiast (read: Toby) or cryptid (Eli) who had traded with Mervin the Monster Dealer for an interesting stone.

The once proud miner’s statue, destroyed during the invasion, had been replaced with one of a tall, horned young man wielding a sword and often garnered comment from passing tourists, even more so when they read the plaque; “In memory of all that was given,” followed by strange markings no one recognised but went on considerably longer and everyone in the know, knew said “For those who sacrificed to stop the Eternal Night and bring peace to our world. May we never forget the brave souls who brought our worlds together,” It had been considered an odd choice but every town had its quirks.

Then of course there were the TrollHunters and the CreepSlayerz. While they were run by teenagers and not officially recognised for legal reasons, everyone in Arcadia knew that when something odd happened they were the ones to call; odd lights in the sky? Eli and Steve were the ones to investigate possible UFOs; rumblings from underground? The TrollHunters would explore the caves and sewers for any Troll activity; the two genius exchange students who didn’t quite grasp the meaning of human lifestyles? They were under observation until they had more information, the recently formed Astronomy club helping the two groups and the other students of Arcadia Oaks High.

Of course, no one who hadn’t been there a little over a year ago knew that, as far as they were concerned Arcadia was a small backwater town that gathered the weirdoes of society and commemorated odd events in strange ways that some had tried to label as devil worship, most just ignored it or saw it as the town trying to attract more tourists.

For Barbara Lake the changes were a relief. For her they were a sign that her son was no longer hiding things from her, other than the usual teenage boy things that is. They were a sign that she hadn’t been going crazy and having a mental breakdown as the stress of work mounted to the point she imagined over a year of her life to explain the worry she felt for her son. For Barbara Lake, the changes were a good thing that allowed people who had once been outcasts to be heard, and a sign that her son had come home, though the look on his face when he’d seen the statue had been entertaining, the embarrassed purple flush on his cheeks hadn’t faded all day.

As she sat at a table outside her favourite cafe watching people pass by, she couldn’t help but take a breath and smile to herself at the thought, everything was okay. She sipped at her tea, a new blend the owner was trying with leaves from TrollMarket, the earthy flavour relaxing her limbs as its warmth pooled in her belly.

She was unaware of her son’s recent turmoil, the darkened shadows that were beginning to grow around her family as the past once more intruded into their present, this time of a far more personal nature. She was thinking of Walt and how he was coping being back at school. She was thinking of her son and how he was dealing with the possibility of going back to school and graduating. She’d admit a small part of her wanted him to say yes, to be able to watch as he stood onstage dressed in his graduation robes, to see her son have a chance at normal, but it was his decision to make and she would support him no matter what.

The buzzing of her phone interrupted her day dreaming. She winced at the thought of the hospital calling her in on her day off, she loved her job but there were days....

She’d barely brought the phone to her ear before she froze, her good feeling gone.

Jim was in trouble.


	8. Chapter 7 - Stranger Things in Arcadia

The TrollHunters gathered in Barbara’s living room, Dicatatious, Blinky and ARRRGH! standing in the arch to the dining room with Merlin while Claire and her parents sat on the couch with Strickler and Nana Domzalski on the chair next to it, the older woman happily munching on some of the food set out on the table for them all eyes fixed on the closed sliding panels into the kitchen were a distraught Barbara was trying to help her son come in with Toby.

“Sorry we’re late,” Eli and Steve said as they stumbled through the front door, the two of them panting as if they’d run all the way there. Neither Claire nor Strickler could hold back their wince, if the CreepSlayerZ were going to be involved, it was big.

The two hadn’t even reached the arch before the kitchen door opened and Jim was escorted through with Toby, his mom quickly setting the kettle to boil while keeping a worried gaze fixed on her son as he took the spare seat opposite Nana Domzalski.

“Jim what happened?”  the sudden question was louder than thunder in the silence Jim had allowed himself to fall into, his eyes blinking as he lifted his hands from his horns, the feel of the cushions on his back and shoulders alien and strange after the intense workout he’d put himself through, though his neck certainly appreciated it after resting his head on Tobes for so long, the chubby boy himself looking uncomfortable at the question.

The young TrollHunter moved his mouth but no sound came out, how was he supposed to tell his mother that the man who’d walked out on them twelve years ago was back in town? He let his head fall back into his hands, fingers massaging his horns in an attempt to relieve himself of the pressure he felt.

“Toby do you know what happened to Jim?” Dr. Lake asked him, eyes beseeching the short boy for answers.

The short trollhunter nodded, eyes glued to the floor knowing it wasn’t his place to say anything but desperate to help his friend.

“Blinky? ARRRGH!? Do either of you know?”

Blinky shook his head, his loquacious nature already taking over, “I’m afraid I haven’t the foggiest, Merlin and I only saw the aftermath, we didn’t press for details,” his six eyes glanced to the floor in shame at being unable to help.

“A simple no would have sufficed, however I believe ARRRGH! may have a better idea,” Merlin gestured grandly to the large Troll, though when did do it any other way? There were times Barbara wanted to hit the man with everything she’d learned of Krav Maga with a few of her own moves thrown in for what he’d done, this was not one of those times as she silently thanked him for the gesture and switched her focus to ARRRGH!

“Jim upset. Not my place to tell,” ARRRGH! looked at Toby, eyes pleading that he tell them. An imperceptible nod from Jim was enough to let him know he could.

“Jim had a visitor today. I don’t know exactly what happened but he came to TrollMarket in a rage and tore the Forge apart, we’re going to need to make some new dummies by the way. The guy who came was....” this was the hard part, while they hadn’t been best friends at the time, Toby only having just moved in, he’d seen how badly Dr. Lake had reacted, and he dreaded having to tell her and see it happen again, “Jim’s dad is back in town,”

The room was silent, even the floorboards and furniture refused to break it; the often ignored wall clock didn’t even tick despite it being the perfect moment to announce its presence. Everyone in the room had some idea of what happened; being a council woman Ophelia made it a point to know what was happening in Arcadia and since befriending Barbara had been made privy to the tale; Nana Domzalski had been there and offered a shoulder to cry on along with plates of cookies; Blinky and ARRRGH! of course had been told when they celebrated Jim’s 16th and Steve and Eli both knew Jim didn’t have a dad though they hadn’t been sure of the details. The only one who knew less was Merlin, though judging from the look on his face he was able to make an educated guess.

It was Dictatious, the blind troll who broke the tenuous silence, “I don’t understand, shouldn’t the boy’s father being back be a heart-warming occasion?” Blinky shouldered his gut as he usually did when he said something inappropriate.

Barbara couldn’t bring herself to be mad at the troll, how could she when she’d had the metaphorical carpet pulled from under her feet, the idea that Jim’s father, the man who’d walked out on them on his son’s birthday, was back was...she couldn’t even think of a word to describe it.

Blinky of course was having none of it, his four hands slapping at his brother who fended them off as best he could, “You blundering blockhead can’t you see this-”

“I’m blind Blinkous how am I supposed to see?”

“Knock it off,” ARRRGH! tapped the two on the back of the head sending them spinning, Blinky managed to catch the back of a chair while Dictatious fell to the floor.

“What happened to the boy’s father to make his return so terrible?”

Blinky was about to launch into another tirade when Barbara spoke up, “It’s okay Blinky, it might be best if I just tell everyone what happened now,” she took a breath and steeled herself to relieve some painful memories, a gentle hand resting on her son’s shoulder to support him as much as her as she took a place on the arm.

“I don’t know how much all of you know so I’ll start at the beginning. On Jim’s fifth birthday his father walked out on us. He didn’t say anything, he just walked out, he’d always been something of a charmer and a flirt so the idea of him having an affair wasn’t too far off, especially from some of the stories his friends told me. What you don’t know was that he was a control freak, convinced of his own superiority. He wasn’t abusive or cruel; he was just convinced in his own beliefs and refused to listen to others,” Barbara paused to lick her lips before she continued.

“Ever since I fell pregnant with Jim he started planning his entire life; where he’d go to school, the people he’d hang out with, what he’d become when he was older. I didn’t mind him wanting Jim to hang out with the kids of his friends but he wanted to send him to a boarding school in a completely different country,” even Jim was shocked at that admission, his mom rarely spoke about his father, but he’d wanted to send him to another country?

“As time went on, it grew worse. He already travelled a lot for work but the trips got longer and longer, his friends were different with me, like they were hiding something,” she smiled a little to herself, “it was like when Jim was hiding the fact he was a TrollHunter, I didn’t know what they were hiding and I worried, but they....” she looked to her son and his friends, “I know you three did it to try and protect us and your friends, but they, they were hiding something for some other reason, and they looked down on me because of it. His best friend, his brother in all but blood, came over one time along with his wife, Jim had barely turned three and they were excited to announce she was pregnant. The two of them were reminiscing about their school days while I was in the kitchen making drinks, and I heard something that changed how I saw him,”

A hushed silence fell over the house while those assembled waited for the doctor to continue while looked at the floor wringing her hands as she forced herself to start facing what had happened, the kind of man she had once dreamt of marrying.

“They admitted they were troublemakers in school but some of their jokes....they were bullies, plain and simple. I heard Sirius talk about a prank he orchestrated that nearly killed another student and he was proud of what he’d done-”

“Wait, Sirius? Not James Sr.?” Walter asked the tea he’d been nursing since he’d arrived hovering gently in his hands before him.

Barbara frowned, confused, had Jim never explained why he was called Junior? Perhaps he wasn’t as unaffected by his father leaving than he showed.

“What? No, Jim’s father was called Sirius, Sirius Black, he was named James after his godfather,” she couldn’t help but smile at the next part as Sirius had begged to be allowed to call his son James, “apparently they were like brothers growing up and even took him in when his parent’s kicked him out, I thought it was sweet at the time so I agreed, it helped that my Grandfather was also called James. Apparently James tried to do the same but Lily put her foot down,” she chuckled, then frowned, “I felt closer to Lily than I did my own fiancé, but even she felt distant....” she murmured, old hurts making themselves known once more.

The atmosphere tensed as Barbara let out a sigh of her own, her audience enraptured by the tale, “After that things started to go downhill. Sirius’s job became even more demanding, he was determined to try and get me to send Jim to a Boarding school where I wouldn’t see him for most of the year, and he tried to mould Jim into something he wasn’t, I’d find him sometimes muttering things like ‘slimy snakes’ into his ear as they played..... I didn’t want my son to become some kind of bigot. I was going to have a talk with him on Jim’s birthday, but after he gave Jim his present....he left. I never heard from him again,”

Her audience stared, even Jim was looking at her in surprise, she’d never told him any of this, to think the man who called himself his father had been.....like that, he’d have preferred Strickler when he was still trying to kill him, at least the former changeling let him have a choice.

“Hey,” Claire stood up and made her way over to him, “Do you want some company tonight? How about you TP?”

Jim felt his eyes widen in surprise at the offer, a part of him grateful that he wouldn’t have to be alone tonight, the other half worried, as usual, about putting his friends in danger.

“Count me in,” Barbara smiled as she saw Jim’s friends rally round him, even Javier and Ophelia looked proudly at their daughter as she offered her strength, the latter pulling out her phone.

“Ophelia what are you doing?”

“I’m calling Detective Scott and asking him to keep an eye out for this guy,”

“Ophelia you don’t have to-”

“I do Barbara. From the sounds of it he might try again and we have no idea how he’ll react to Trolls and Wizards, this isn’t your regular tourist, and you have enough on your plate with the hospital,”

“Ophelia is right,” Walt stood, his cup and saucer somehow appearing on the table, “I’ll alert the school in case he tries there, I know it’s Summer Vacation but there is still the Summer School and other activities going on,”

“I’ll let my po-knitting circle know,” Nana Domzalski chimed in.

“He poses a risk to the entire town, we’ll let the others know and try and keep Aja and Krel away from him,” Steve added.

“Knowing them they’ll probably want to help,” Eli said.

“We’ll put TrollMarket on alert; it wouldn’t do to have him see one of the salvage parties,” Merlin stood, raising a hand to stop Blinky making a suggestion, “This is a.....teenage matter, a teenage solution would be better suited then a TrollHunter mission,” the leader of TrollMarket gave a resigned nod seeing sense in the man’s words, though it was odd to hear him say the word Teenage as if he’d never heard of the concept.

“I’ll have ARRRGH! check in from time to time, I’d prefer if he could stay here but if he should be caught....”

“Check in,” ARRRGH! agreed.

Barbara felt the familiar burning sensation of tears welling up behind her eyes at the show of solidarity and support coming from all of them. It made her miss the closeness of her family, her parents having distanced themselves since she fell pregnant outside of marriage and her siblings following their lead only sending the occasional Christmas card. She excused herself with the offer of drinks and headed to the kitchen.

She didn’t even realise she’d been followed until she heard the door close and Walt’s familiar, warm hand on her shoulder, “Barbara, tell me honestly, are you really alright?”

She hung her head and held back a relieved sob, “I don’t know. Jim and I.....we haven’t seen or heard from the man for over twelve years and now.....We’ve just finished rebuilding Arcadia, TrollMarket’s still got a long way to go before it’s back to how it once was, and Jim and I.....neither of us have really recovered from his change, Jim’s strong and I know he doesn’t want me to worry, but I’m his mother it’s my job, I know we had that intervention but if he keeps bottling up how he feels.....” she trailed off, helpless.

“Jim is a strong young man who has experienced things many changelings have never had to, he has true friends and a strong mother,” she snorted.

“I wish, I can put up a front like anyone but.....I can’t do this on my own Walter,”

“No one’s asking you too,”

“Will you stay tonight; I could use the company,”

She turned into Walt’s hug, forehead resting on his shoulders, “As if I’d be anywhere else,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit I'm not entirely satisfied with these two chapters so if anyone has advice....Like I said at the start this work is unbeta'd


	9. Chapter 8 - Odd Looks and Suspicious Behaviour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note I have made some edits to the last chapter so hopefully it doesn't feel so stilted, nothing major just hoping it now flows better

Sirius had been in Arcadia for little over a week, and since his first visit to his fiancé’s home where his son had slammed the door in his face, he hadn’t attempted to see them again until he was better prepared. In that week however, the entire town of Arcadia Oaks seemed to undergo a transformation. The ex-convict couldn’t put his finger on it, but he felt as if he was being watched. It was as if the entire town was suddenly watching him, it didn’t feel like it was because he was, technically, a criminal, more for the fact he was an outsider which was ridiculous, he’d seen plenty of tourists being treated no differently than a local so why would they single him out?

He’d briefly contemplated watching the house but figured that would be a little too stalkerish, not that he hadn’t tried in his dog form until a small, diminutive lady with her hair in two buns had chased him off with a broom for scaring her cats. He’d even checked out the school, both as human and dog, each time he’d been chased off, the former for being a stranger and despite school being out they were still using it for things, and the latter because he was a stray dog around ‘vulnerable young children’ (he didn’t know that with the revelation of the supernatural any strange looking animal such as giant dog that looked more like a wolf, was treated with the utmost caution and kept away from any major gathering places along with all strange objects until they’d been thoroughly vetted)

As far as Sirius was concerned, Arcadia had changed and not for the better, he hoped he could convince James and Barbara to leave this place should they ever discover his magic, he refused to believe his son was a squib.

Sighing to himself, Sirius drained the coffee he’d been drinking, humming appreciatively for the smooth, smoky flavour it had before depositing his cup back into the table. He had to plan. If he wanted to see Barbara and Junior again he had come up with a plan to actually catch them together and have a talk, he knew he had to apologise for not coming back sooner, once he figured out how to tell them he’d been arrested and imprisoned without trial, but they would talk.

..................................................................................................................................................................

It was another two weeks before he got his chance. Schools were starting up again and the town buzzed with activity as students started getting everything together in a last minute rush. For Sirius it was a novelty to see a school that didn’t use uniforms, instead allowing students to dress as they pleased as long as it wasn’t inappropriate.

He’d managed to find a nice little B&B to stay at instead of a motel some distance away, meaning he was much closer to the school and Barbara’s house. He’d racked his brain to figure out how he’d engineer a meeting but the strange attitude he’d been met with by the locals had completely thrown him. Despite years in Azkaban the Black charm had never failed him before, yet everyone he spoke to treated him to the cold shoulder once he told them his name. It was maddening.

Even worse were the nights. Sirius had travelled out in his Grimm guise several times to scout around. Each time he swore there was something else hiding just out of site, he was pretty sure something had tried to take a bite out of him at one point until he managed to land a lucky scratch with his hind leg and scarper, heading for the more brightly lit areas of the town. He was also sure he’d seen some crazy kids in weird outfits running around fighting something, he’d asked around the next day and told about a local group of LARPers, whatever that was, who took their role-playing very seriously.

He was also sure the B&B, and just about every other public building, was infested with rats, the little blighters disappearing whenever he turned around. His concerns were waved off by the owners, the police and health and safety; apparently every building had been checked and cleared of recognised vermin.

It was even stranger when he was hauled in by a Detective Scott for questioning about a series of robberies that had taken place and that he’d been sighted near each one only days before. Nothing came of it, but the man made his dislike of him clear when he gave him to a Sergeant Gulager to escort out, the sergeant himself seeming to dislike him on principle, his glare only made worse by the poorly veiled scar on one side.

Sirius couldn’t help but feel dismissive of the school in front of him. Oh he was sure it was a fine muggle institution but why wouldn’t his Jim have gone to a magical school? Had Barbara opted for private tuition? He heard some muggle families tried to do that in the UK only to find the preparations and cost of such a thing impractical, not to mention Hogwarts and even Illvermorny had much better teachers than any private tutor.

He’d seen James that morning heading inside, the boy towering over the others by at least a foot, his strong figure very much admired by onlookers judging by the appreciative glances sent towards him as they took in his slightly too small clothes, somehow taking comfort from a dark haired girl in pink and purple next to him and an even smaller boy who had clearly lost a lot of weight recently if his own ill fitting clothes were any indication. The trio had walked in, inseparable and proud, waving and smiling as they were greeted by others including a tall blonde boy and a smaller brown haired boy in glasses waiting by the entrance.

He’d waited at a nearby cafe, ignoring the odd looks some of the other customers sent him, pretending to be engrossed in a newspaper while he waited for school to finish, occasionally glancing at his watch as if waiting for someone and ordering another cafetiere of coffee.

He heard a bell ring, loud enough to be heard for miles and looked at his watch. 3 o’clock. Giving a resigned huff as if his non-existent companion had never showed he folded the paper, leaving it on the table along with a generous tip, and left, eyes discreetly focusing on the school as kids ran out, some being picked up by their parents, most walking or cycling.

Sirius felt luck was with him when he saw a small blue car pull up and Barbara stepped out, a white medical coat on as she explained something to a confused looking James and the grinning smaller boy, the girl nowhere in sight.

Taking a confident breath, Sirius marched forward.


	10. Chapter 9 - Private Conversations and Heart-to-Hearts

For Jim the first day back at school had been a blast. It was only last year that he had started school as a complete nobody, the only ones besides Toby who knew his name was Steve and Eli, the year had ended with him being the most talked about person in the school’s history. It was odd, yet refreshing that so many of the people he knew treated him as a perfectly normal kid, merely offering a hi and a wave instead of clamouring for answers and requests to see his Troll form. He was pretty sure Eli and Steve had spread the word around not to ask, along with Mary and Darci, the four of them practically ruling the school in terms of social power. Jim never thought he’d see the day he greeted Steve as a friend.

The morning had been dominated by the annual start-of –year orientation where ground rules were laid out for new students and congratulations for the various sports teams and clubs who’d done well in last year’s competitions were given out along with notices for try outs. Jim and Claire had been singled out as returning students but other than a brief round of applause that had mystified the freshman nothing major had happened, besides the new rule against certain items of ‘unusual’ origin.

Lunch had been pleasant, eating human food with his friends, talking and laughing as the small group that they had formed in that Saturday detention last year gathered around them and talk about what was going on was exchanged. The afternoon classes were basic, the teachers explaining what they’d be covering that year, warning them of the exams they’d need to do and the events they could get involved in if they so chose. As usual the first day of school went on till around three when the bell went, the students rushing like a wave out the doors.

Jim wasn’t surprised to see Claire had already left her advanced placement classes this year meaning she finished earlier than them and that she had something to get ready for and would meet up with them later. Toby was grinning to himself, a smug grin stretched across his face. Jim couldn’t blame him, after several years of being the fat kid with braces his growth spurt and recent weight loss had left him feeling confident and secure in himself, helped along by the fact he was known as part of team TrollHunter and dating one of the most popular girls in school. He should have known something would happen to spoil it.

His mom had shown up to offer the two of them a lift, considering he’d accidentally broken his bike being too heavy handed with the frame, he was glad of it, especially because he knew he had training in the Forge with Nomura and Blinky, the changeling curious to see the famous Heroes Forge in action and Blinky eager to show off.

“Hey Dr. L, think we can stop by my place before we head for.....” Toby’s cheerful voice trailed off as he spotted a dark haired man in a long coat heading towards them. He may have only seen the man once but with everything going on recently the entire TrollHunter crew had been given a description of him, and judging by the confident swagger he walked with, he was going to be trouble.

“Toby, maybe you should run on ahead,” Dr. Lake said, the suggestion more of an order as her eyes narrowed at the sight of the man.

“Errrrr, yeah sure, I’ll see you later Jimbo,” he called as he started jogging towards a police cruiser, “Hey Darci, Dectecive Scott can I hitch a ride?”

Jim was both upset at the sudden loss of his friend and grateful that he wouldn’t be around for the inevitable confrontation, it was bad enough there were still other students hanging around as they slowly drifted away from their prison.

“What do you want?” his mom growled, he felt his own Troll instincts take note and wondered how he’d never seen this side of her before.

Sirius was clearly taken aback if the widening of his eyes was any indication and the slight back step he struggled to hide, though he quickly recovered.

“Hello to you to Barbs,” he said instead, a cheeky, flirtatious grin thrown in that forced Jim to fight back the urge to punch him.

“You don’t get to call me that anymore,” Jim tried not focus on the brewing fight, his own senses and instincts calling him to get involved, instead he tried to focus on how odd it was to be taller than both his parents, their heads barely reaching his chin.

“Doesn’t a man have a right to see his fiancé and son?”

“Fiancé? I stopped being your fiancé when you walked out on us twelve years ago!”

“Is there a problem here?” Strickler’s cultured voice froze whatever the two had been going to say, his mom looking towards him in relief while Sirius’s eyes narrowed with anger, “If you wish to have a private discussion, perhaps the street isn’t the best place to have it, you’re free to use my office if you wish,”

“Thank you Walter,” Barbara heaved out a sigh of relief, already heading inside, Jim following while his father looked between them and Strickler, bewildered.

Strickler’s office hadn’t changed since they’d broken in for the Anastromonstrum shell, his masks still hung on the wall along with a few small weapons, books were placed neatly on the wooden shelves and light poured in through the windows, the only difference as far as he could tell, was the presence of a picture of his mom on the desk.

Sirius followed the two of them in growling when Strickler made to follow.

“This is a private matter and doesn’t concern you,” the man hissed.

Jim recognised the look in Strickler’s eyes, “As this is my office I think you’ll find it does concern me,” Strickler was going to torment him. Part of Jim wanted to smirk, the other to sigh and roll his eyes at the pettiness, not that he didn’t have it coming but there were better ways than baiting them.

“This is a family-”

“You do not get to decide who hears this Black,” Barbara spat, “And as a matter of fact this very much does involve Walt,” she huffed as she took the window lined side of the room forcing Sirius to take the other while Jim waited by the grand piano and Strickler took his place on his chair, hands folded neatly in front of him as if about to discuss a student’s grades rather be involved in a.....Jim wasn’t sure what to call it other than a mess.

Barbara glared at Sirius from her vantage point, the sun making her look like some kind avenger as it gave her body an ethereal glow. The pair where silent, Sirius trying to recover his confidence in the face of Barbara’s anger and the intrusion of a complete stranger in what should have been a private conversation.

“As delightful as this reunion is, perhaps we should begin with why you are here Mr.....apologies I don’t have your name,” Strickler was bringing his concerned teacher voice into this. Jim remembered way too many conversations before he became the TrollHunter where he used that tone and managed to get him to talk, it kinda lost its effect when he found out he was a changeling trying to release an evil monster, but now it was useful, Jim wanted answers, he wanted to know why his father was here, why now, he had to fight the urge for his armour to appear though he wasn’t sure if it was for some kind of protection or to attack the man, the tenuous control he’d managed to develop over his new instincts were already fraying at the seams, the beast he’d kept chained braying to be released.

“Black, Sirius Black,”

“Mr. Black. As principal of Arcadia Oaks High it is my duty, and privilege, to have these students, including Jim, under my care. I will warn you now that I and my staff have been briefed on what happened twelve years ago when Doctor Lake called to alert us to your presence and under no circumstances allow you near our charges. By all rights I should have called the authorities the moment you approached them on school grounds, however it would seem that there are questions that need to be answered, but, should you show any hostile intent I can assure you, you will be escorted not only from this school but from Arcadia Oaks itself,” Jim was impressed by Strickler’s composure, his tone never rising or falling, remaining inscrutably calm and yet carrying a hint of threat even Nomura would have flinched at.

“You’re just a teacher how could you-”

“I have friends in high places Mr. Black and Dr. Lake is a highly respected individual at both the hospital and in our community,” Strickler hmmmed, eye flicking to Barbara and back to Black before glancing at Jim in concern the way everyone had been doing since he’d revealed his ‘dad’ was back in town.

“Perhaps we should start with why did you choose now to come back?”

“Isn’t it obvious? To see my son,” the man scoffed as if it was obvious.

Strickler sighed; the weight of Barbara’s gaze boring into him as she silently asked him to take charge, unsure of what she’d do in front of her son.

“That much is clear, but why now? It’s been weeks since you first arrived, and even longer since you left without a word,”

Sirius visibly hesitated, his posture tensing as his eyes widened, however briefly, in panic, “I had some things to take care of,”

Barbara hissed while Strickler just leaned back into his chair, “It would appear Detective Scott’s and Sergeant Gulager’s suspicions were correct,”

Jim perked up, he’d been trying to avoid any mention of Black for the past month, his mom more than willing to grant that particular wish and passing it on, if Detective Scott had ‘suspicions’ he could pass it off as paranoia, he was a brilliant detective but he was known for becoming overly invested in some cases and people. Sergeant Gulager on the other hand was a town hero since a shooting Jim hadn’t paid much attention to that happened when he was little, that had left him with an impressive scar and a stammer as well as hero status in the eyes of many. The man apparently had uncanny skills when it came to sussing out a person and their motivations as well as keep people calm and orderly, he’d been in one of the rougher parts of the town during the Eternal Night and it was only thanks to him no one there had been seriously hurt.

“Mister Black, have you been in prison at any point?” had it been anyone else people would have wondered why Strickler was so calm asking a potential criminal if he’d been arrested, he could have been a serial killer for all they knew. But this was Strickler, a skilled fighter and changeling; he could take out a small group of trolls if he really put his mind to it without breaking a sweat, and if that failed Jim was more than capable of taking down a human before they could even think of doing anything.

“....Imprisoned without trial,” the room seemed darker as he uttered those words. Jim heard the slight stumble from outside, had Tobes not gone with the Scotts?

He looked towards his mom and saw the anger and frustration die a little, her shoulders and neck were still tense but she no longer looked as if she was about to lunge at the man.

Strickler broke whatever tentative truce had just been formed, “And what were you arrested for?”

“....the murder of my best friends, James and Lily Potter.....” it felt odd to hear the name James come from his mouth, the name he only heard when he was in trouble or had to have a serious talk, and to hear it in relation to someone else....Jim shook his head, he couldn’t feel sympathy for the man, it was sad he’d lost his best friends and apparently accused of their murders, but he knew there was more to it than that. Jim could smell a lie, quite literally thanks to his Troll nose, it might have been by omission, but Sirius was lying about something.

“Sirius....” his mom on the other hand seemed more than willing to forgive, he could see her body language ease into her ‘comforting-a-patient’ stance, admittedly she knew more about Sirius’s relationship with this ‘Lily and James’ so.....

Maybe it was his turn to ask a question.

“It doesn’t exactly explain why you left,” the tension returned, the light in Black’s eyes dimming as he looked to his son, “Or why you didn’t call, pretty sure prisoners are allowed a phone call,”

“Junior-”

“Don’t,” Jim growled, “no one calls me Junior, not even you,”

“James-”

“It’s Jim,” the urge to leap and punch his face was growing, was this how Dectective Scott had felt when he first met Tobes?

“.....Jim,” Black swallowed, “I left because I heard they were in danger, and if I stayed you would have been to. I left to protect you, but when I heard they were dead...I admit I lost it and went after the rat who killed them,” his fist was tense against the wall, head down as he glared at the carpet Strickler had installed in front of his desk.

“And Harry?” his mom spoke up, her posture once again tense and angry, “Your Godson? The boy you were supposed to look after should anything happen to his parents? He would’ve been barely a year old and you left him to child services?”

“I made sure he was alright when I escaped,” Sirius tried to defend himself.

“Escaped? So you’re a fugitive. How long?” Jim had to admit he was impressed at his mom’s growl, apparently Trolls found that a desirable quality to have.

Sirius seemed to realise his mistake but he still answered, “...a little over a year,” it wasn’t the right answer.

“A year. You were out of prison for over a year and instead of even trying to contact your family, your own son, you searched for the man who killed your friends and cared for your godson instead?” Barbara was practically hissing now, her stance looking more and more like Nomura’s before she went for the kill.

“I had to-”

“No Sirius,” she took a breath, long and shuddering in through the nose and out through the mouth, “You had your chance twelve years ago. If I ever see you near my family again you had better hope the authorities find you because I don’t want to hear you’re pathetic excuses about why you threw every good thing you had away, you’re words, not mine,”

“I believe that’s your cue to leave Mister Black,” the escaped convict looked around, face blank as if dazed before shuffling towards the door, walking through it and disappearing into the school corridors.

Strickler looked to Jim as he stood and moved towards Barbara, one arm reaching around her shoulders as she finally gave out and let herself cry, “I’ll make sure your mother gets home safely young Atlas, perhaps you should make sure mister Domzalski hasn’t hurt himself while waiting outside,”

A familiar chubby face appeared in the doorway, a cheeky, embarrassed grin on his face.

Jim nodded heading for the door, “....Strickler....thanks, for taking care of my mom,”

Strickler just nodded, seeming to recognise the words for what they were as he watched the teenager walk through the portal, shoulders sagging as he tried to figure out what to do. The Changeling felt sorry for the young man, the duties of the TrollHunter, and the power granted by the amulet, were no preparation for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, depending on how the next few days go I might have to slow my updates to one chapter a week instead of two, mainly so I can keep the chapters coming instead of having huge breaks between updates, the current chapter I'm on is just kicking my ass in terms of flow and, well everything, but hopefully once done it'll be smooth sailing


	11. Chapter 10 - Just a Boy

Toby could see his best friend was struggling with what had happened at school as they made their way down to TrollMarket, heck Toby was struggling and he wasn’t even a main character in this play.

“You want to talk about it?” he offered as he jumped the final step of the crystal staircase.

“Not really,” from his tone of voice Toby could guess how his friend was feeling after their little talk in Strickler’s office, it was the way Toby had felt when he realised his parents were dead, the way he’d felt after Jim left for the Darklands without them, the way Jim, bright, lively, cheerful Jim, should never, ever feel; numb.

He watched as Jim shed his human guise as they entered TrollMarket proper, the half-amulet Merlin had pulled from him glowing in his pocket as if unsure whether to call the armour in response to Jim’s distress.

“Want to head to the Forge and work it out?” Toby suggested hopefully, despite what had happened the surprise he’d carefully organised with ARRRGH! was a sure fire way to cheer up the moody half-troll.

“Maybe later,” Jim’s head fell back as he huffed, “think I’ll head to the HeartStone and see how Merlin’s getting on,” Toby had to jog to keep up with his friend’s long strides, nimbly dodging the myriad Trolls repairing their home and he couldn’t help but wonder if they’d ever be able to completely repair the damage caused by Gunmar and Morgana.

The HeartStone at least was looking better. It held a strange kind of beauty in Toby’s opinion, a small but glowing chunk of orange surrounded by cloudy, grey stone in a macabre sort of crown or shield, it was almost poetic. He stumbled the last few steps as he entered the Dwell, the HeartStone’s glow much stronger at the heart but still weak and fragile compared to the strong, life giving light it had once been.

Merlin stood at the end, hovering over the newly rebuilt table, Morgan Le Fey’s ghost by his side as they examined something laid out in front of them.

“Something wrong?” Jim asked, his voice, while strong, still held its numb tone.

“Ah, TrolllHunter, what brings you here?” Merlin mumbled distractedly, either missing or ignoring the rolled eyes Le Fey shot him before she focused on the two Trollhunters.

“You sound troubled,”

“Ah, no, just wanted to see how the HeartStone’s healing,” Jim tried to sound cheerful, if bored, to Toby it sounded a little too fake to be genuine.

“Alas not well,” the ghost said as glanced back at the scroll in front of them, Merlin finally looking up and sighing in defeat.

“We’ve hit a bit of stumbling block,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose as if getting a headache, “Gunmar’s corruption is proving more tenacious then we first thought and we need to clear it before it can regenerate,”

“Unfortunately the corruption can contaminate the already healed parts of the HeartStone as well, so we must focus on protecting, ensuring it’s safe before we can try and purify the rest. My shadow’s magic, however, has caused even more complications and without a shard of the original HeartStone we have lost our advantage,”

“Yes, all Troll leaders carried a piece of their home’s HeartStone at some point in case any harm should befall it, when that stopped I have no idea,” Merlin muttered the last part.

Toby chuckled nervously, “By shard, you wouldn’t mean staff would you?”

“Hmm? A staff is traditional though other methods were sometimes used, a piece of jewellery perhaps or a simple crystal kept separate from the rest, I know Vendel once carried one, you wouldn’t happen to know what happened to it?”

Toby couldn’t stop the nervous laugh that built up in the back of his throat, “w-well, funny story, so you see, so we could save Jim from the Darklands we had to save ARRRGH! from Sun Creepers Poison and to do that we had to trade Vendel’s staff to the Janus Order for the cure and...heh-heh,”

“I see. Well that just means it’ll take longer,” the ancient wizard turned back to the scroll.

Morgan Le Fey huffed, “Even after all these Millennia you still fail at interacting with others,”

“I think you’ll find I interact rather well with others, though I can’t say I like this ‘texting’ of theirs,”

The ghost fumed before focusing once more on the TrollHunters, “My apologies for his behaviour TrollHunters, Merlin was never very good at interacting with humans, or people in general,”

“Really? I never noticed,” Toby rolled his eyes as Jim finally let out a small chuckle.

“See I’m not that bad,” the ghost just shook her head, smiling when she saw Jim’s spirit’s lifting.

“Perhaps now is not the time for you to focus on these matters. Healing the HeartStone to even a fraction of its former self will take many days even with the magic of Avalon,” she glanced at Merlin, “I may not have Merlin’s foresight, but I do know that there are still many trials in your future Trollhunter and I fear we may not have seen the last of Morgana,”

“But I thought you said-”

“The shadow that was Morgana was spawned from my own arrogance and spite, but it existed long before myself. There are things that dwell just out of sight; things that can warp the inexperienced Mage that we must always guard against, lest are least desirable traits take over our minds. But you need not worry young Jim,” she offered when she saw Jim’s own worried expression return, “You are a strong young man with true friends that can help you in your time of need but only if you let them in, something I, and Merlin,” she gave the Wizard a pointed look, “have often failed to do when it would have availed us most,”

Toby watched as Jim shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, the amulet flickering once again, “Don’t worry about Jim, we’ve got his back,” he stated confidently, nudging his friend with his elbow, enjoying the slight look of surprise on his face, even if it was a little insulting.

“Tobes....”

“Anyway, we better get going, people to see, training to do. Come on Jimbo,” with a strength that belied his size Toby practically manhandled the Half-Troll out of the recently repaired doors and directed him to the Forge.

“Tobes you don’t have to-”

“I do Jimbo, someone needs to save you from yourself,”

Jim hesitated for a moment, “.....why’d you come back? To the school I mean,”

Toby shot him a confused look, “Because you needed help, duh,”

“But what about Darci?”

“Well, yeah Darci’s my girlfriend and all and I love her, but you’re my best friend, we’re TrollHunter partners, the dynamic duo, she gets that,”

“Really?”

“Yeah, she’s kinda the one who helped me decide to come back, she and her dad are pretty alike that way,”

“How so?”

“They both know the value of friends, Detective Scott knows from his work which is where Darci got it from I guess, but she, Mary and Claire are always there for each other, I know they fight and argue the way girls do, but they’ve always got each other’s backs you know?” Toby sighed when he saw Jim’s uncertainty.

“Remember when you came back from the Darklands and I yelled at you for going in without us? I wasn’t mad just because you left us when you promised we’d go together. I was mad because you risked your life and I couldn’t be there to have your back, and this whole thing with your dad.....you keep shutting people out, like your problems don’t matter and it hurts, not just me, but your mom, Claire, even Blinky and ARRRGH! We love you Jimbo, you’ve just got to stop pushing us away,”

Toby heard more than saw Jim’s pace pick up, a powerful arm appearing around his neck, “Thanks Tobes, I’ll try and work on that,”

“You better,” the two laughed as their walk dissolved into roughhousing as they crossed the bridge to the Forge, something they hadn’t done since their first visit to the Forge when Jim had pretended to push Toby over the edge.

“Anyway there’s another reason we wanted to bring you here,”

“We?”

“SURPRISE!” Jim’s confusion shattered as the cacophonous yell filled the arena, the SoothScryer rising along with the central platform as it had on his 16th, as people poured out of the tunnels and music started playing.

“Tobes what is this?” Jim cried as he saw the CreepSlayerZ along with Aja and Krel, clapping and cheering madly while his mom, now visibly calmer, walked forward with Strickler and Claire, Blinky and ARRRGH! standing just behind fiddling with something under a large tarpaulin.

“With most of Arcadia rebuilt and the first stage of TrollMarket’s reconstruction finished it felt like a good time to celebrate, plus everyone wanted to thank you properly for being _the_ TrollHunter,”

“Toby it’s not Trollhunter-”

“It’s TrollHunter _s_ we know, but it wouldn’t have happened without you,”

“Jim, honey,” his mom hugged him.

“It’s good to see you looking better young Atlas, you did a fine job Toby Domzalski,” Strickler nodded, one arm tense as if prepared to comfort Dr. Lake at a moment’s notice should she need it.

Jim saw Darci motion to Toby out of the corner of his eye as he hugged back, horns resting just above his mom’s hair before leaning down to do the same with Claire.

“Ooh right, Jimbo we’ve got one more surprise for ya,” Toby once more had to drag his friend forward as he and ARRRGH! stood either side of the covered object, “ARRRGH! and I’ve been working on this for a while, since you’re back. Blinky helped us find things we needed when he wasn’t busy with TrollMarket. Wingman,” ARRRGH! chuckled at Toby’s embarrassment before effortlessly lifting the large piece of treated cloth to reveal a gleaming black Vespa decorated with red and blue glowing highlights.

“Since Merlin kinda destroyed your old one to make our armour we thought, well....”

“Toby thought you might like something to replace it,” Claire stepped forward, placing an arm around Toby’s shoulder.

“Even Merlin chipped in with a few spells to make it more durable,” Blinky offered.

Jim was enthralled, his eyes wide as his large hands ran over the sleek framework with a reverence and gentleness more befitting an object of worship than a bike made of scavenged parts.

“Perhaps we should put this somewhere safe until the party’s over,” Blinky stepped forward, gesturing to ARRRGH! to move the beautiful machine away from the gears of the Forge and partying Trolls.

“As for you Master Jim, perhaps now you’ll finally relax, I know the past month hasn’t been easy for you, but you shouldn’t let your fears control you, just take it easy on the Glugg this time,”

“Glugg’s the Troll beer right?” Barbara whispered to Walter, the man merely nodding while the rest of what Blinky said caught up to her, “Wait, this time? What do you mean this time? Jim? Blinky?” the changeling watched as the red-haired beauty who’d agreed to give him a second chance disappeared into the crowd after her son and his chagrined mentor, only giving a slight tilt of the head to acknowledge ARRRGH! coming to stand beside him.

“They’ll be fine now,”

“I do hope you’re right,” the teacher said as he watched Barbara pull a large tankard of Glugg away from her son, unmoved by his pout.

“They strong,” Strickler couldn’t help but remember Toby letting him know about Merlin’s warning about a growing darkness and the risks the TrollHunters took every day to protect their homes and families.

“I know. It’s so easy to forget they’re still so young, in Troll terms Jim is still just a boy and yet now....” ARRRGH! gave him a gentle pack on the back.

“Can only be there for him. Help him, keep safe, teach,”

“I just hope it’s enough,” Walter knew they’d always worry for Jim. He had taken a difficult roll and fulfilled it admirably, but there were always the dangers of tomorrow lurking around the corner. He just hoped they were prepared to face them.


	12. Chapter 11 - Talks and Departures

With the threat of Gunmar gone and with the aid of the CreepSlayerZ and most of Arcadia, Jim found himself finally able to focus on schoolwork. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to actually go to college, but he wanted to see if he could at least make it past High School, plus it allowed him to experience a sense of normalcy he hadn’t felt since the ‘unbecoming’ episode when he was on trial, finding out it actually had a name and that there were several instances of it in Troll History was quite the eye opener.

There were times; however, he wondered if Maths with Ms. Janeth was worth it, Algebra had been hard enough but Trigonometry? It was official, Jim Lake Jr. hated triangles. He flung his head back against the tree he was leaning against outside the museum, eyes flicking towards his bag and the Spanish paper he had to do for Senor Uhl, they’d been kind enough to let him finish sophomore year, but he still had to catch up on work. He wished he could study with Claire and Toby, if only to alleviate the boredom and aggravation he had to endure alone, instead Toby was on a date with Darci and Claire was at a family thing with her parents and Enrique.

Jim was tempted to wish for a call, he didn’t care if was as a postman, a gnome catcher or even helping Merlin and Blinky keep TrollMarket in order. It wasn’t until he’d actually wielded Daylight once again that he realised how much he’d missed the lighter blade and armour. Eclipse was a part of him now, he knew that, but it also carried more bad memories for Jim than Daylight, that and being trapped in it for several months didn’t exactly help.

Maybe a break wasn’t a bad idea, the sun was shining, the sky was clear and the town was mercifully quiet. Part of him wanted to shift into his Troll form, feel the sun on his horns and just stretch, but he knew it was a bad idea to do it in the middle of a busy junction where anyone could see him, and the sight of Trolls still unnerved some people, especially those still in denial after the invasion.

Jim let himself slowly slide to the ground, the sensation of bark and grass against his skin a strange sort of relief he doubted he’d ever get used to, the reminder that he wasn’t actually human even when he looked like one. He let the sounds of Arcadia flood his senses, eyes closing as he enjoyed a peaceful day, something he’d promised himself to do ever since the DarkLands.

He’d barely let his lids fall before a shadow was blocking his light. He felt his face twist into a scowl as he was forced back to full wakefulness, and frowned when he saw Sirius Black standing in front of him, still wearing that stupidly expensive smelling leather jacket.

“What do you want?” unlike their previous encounters Jim didn’t growl, the shock of his sudden appearance having worn off and his mom was nowhere near by so his protective instincts weren’t going into overdrive. He really didn’t feel anything towards this man other than contempt and anger over the fact that he hurt his mom when he left.

“Is that anyway-”

“If you say ‘dad’ I’ll leave right now,” he felt tempted to shift and see how well Sirius would cope facing a seven foot troll teenager, he might not feel anything towards him, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t have some fun at his expense.

Sirius took a step back as Jim sat up, already missing the comforting feel of the soft ground.

“I just wanted to talk, to explain,”

“You explained plenty in Strickler’s office,”

“I didn’t get a chance to explain everything,”

“Do you really think you deserve one?” the way the man fidgeted Jim knew he wanted to say yes but also knew that was the wrong answer. They stayed like that for several minutes, Jim already standing up to leave.

“I’m sorry,” the teen paused, eyes focusing on the escaped convict, “I’m sorry I left and didn’t come back but I had to save my friends,” Jim knew the feeling well but the way Sirius said it rubbed him the wrong way, “I should have come back after I found out what happened to them instead of running off after the rat who killed them, but you have to understand we thought he was our friend,”

Jim gave a sardonic laugh, “You open your mouth and all I can hear is excuse after excuse. You want to explain what happened? How about this: Fact; you left. Fact; you kept secrets from Mom, not to protect her but because you didn’t trust her. Fact; your friends were all in on it and looked down on Mom because of that,” he held up a finger when he saw Sirius about to speak, “Fact; You were so convinced you were right and that you could come swaning back into our lives at any moment you did what you wanted regardless of consequences. Fact; You had to face reality and how much you screwed-up when you were arrested and you couldn’t handle it, now you’re trying to go back to how things were before even though the world has moved on. _We_ have moved on. And there’s no place for you here anymore,”

Jim made to leave, his heart thrumming at finally being able to say what he thought to the man.

“Like you haven’t made mistakes? Like you haven’t done something you regretted?” Jim thought back to his ‘Unbecoming’ and the time immediately after he became half-troll, “Are you saying that you’ve never done something you that you wished you could take back?”

Jim turned back to his wannabe father, his eyes narrowed in contempt, “I’ve made mistakes, there are times I’ve regretted them,” that brief moment when they thought Chompsky was dead, the time his mom was nearly killed by Angor Rot, “But I accepted the consequences of my actions and lived with it, but I can honestly say I’ve never done something as bad as you,”

“I left to protect you-”

“I’m not talking about me. Yes I’m angry that you left mom but she’s not the only person you’ve hurt, what about you’re godson? The boy you were supposed to look after and instead took off on some idiotic revenge scheme that got you arrested and put him in social care,”

“He went to family,” Sirius’s defended.

“Really? And is he happy?” the ensuing silence was telling, “I thought so. You are a greedy, self-centred man Sirius Black. You act like you’re king of the world and you don’t care about anyone unless it affects you. I’ve heard the stories, the pranks you pulled, the boy you nearly got _killed,”_  Jim felt an odd sense of relief sweep the back of his mind, “Looking back on it, I’m glad you left. Mom got the chance to meet someone far better than you, someone who’s actually worth her time and I didn’t have to grow up with a bigot for a dad,”

He could see Sirius’s eyes water and a part of him felt a vindictive glee while the other just didn’t care. It was something he didn’t realise he needed to say until he said it.

“If you want to try and ‘atone’ for your mistakes, you can do it somewhere else,” this time Jim was able to move away before Sirius called.

“It’s not safe here,” Jim fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“If this is some desperate attempt-”

“It’s not. I don’t know what exactly but there is something strange in this town, something dangerous. I know I’m not your favourite person right know but I don’t want to see either of you get hurt,”

Jim cast his mind back over the past few months, other the occasional gnome problem, stray goblin and the odd gruesome that had come too late for the battle, it had been pretty quiet, admittedly he didn’t know everything going on with Aja and Krel, Toby had said they’d had some strange encounters while he’d been gone, but there’d been nothing truly dangerous in Arcadia for a while now.

“And what exactly would you have us do if it’s so dangerous?” he asked instead, “Move? Mom might have a good job but she’s worked hard to get where she is, she isn’t going to just throw it away on your say so, and I’m doing well at school, I’ve got great friends here, I’m not just going to leave them,”

“I can help if you’ll let me,”

“And put ourselves in your debt?”

“You wouldn’t be in anyone’s debt, I can give you money to buy a new house, heck I know some good schools, better schools, you can go to, you’re a Black that still carries weight in some circles over here,”

“And again it’s about you. You didn’t listen to a word I said and yet you’re still trying to plan my life for me as if I’ve got no mind of my own,” Jim shifted his bag until it smoothed out against his waist, the books moving themselves into a more comfortable position, “We’re done here. Goodbye Sirius Black,”

..................................................................................................................................................................

Sirius could only watch as his son left, his long legs taking him out of sight in seconds as he walked proudly through Arcadia. He could feel his heart breaking at the utter contempt he’d shown him, the words cutting worse than any spell his own mother could have cast. Why couldn’t he understand he just wanted him safe?

He’d seen the writing on the base of the statue, the strange figure wielding a sword and an epithet that would be more suited to a war memorial. The more concerning part had been the odd markings beneath it: strange rune like scratches he couldn’t decipher but recalled reading about at both school and his family’s libraries. He wasn’t sure who wrote them, but he knew they were bad news, he knew they were associated with monsters, the things that go bump in the night and steal children. He knew they were supposed to have been wiped out millennia ago by wizards hoping to purge the world of darkness. He knew if there were people, or creatures, using that writing than his son was in danger, Barbara might not want anything to do with him anymore, but he would protect Jim.

Sirius knew he couldn’t do it on his own though and it would need careful planning especially with Pettigrew on the loose. He’d already made preparations to leave, to return to the UK, Harry’s letter about his scar and the news of the TriWizard Tournament being revived already having him worried. He was sure Dumbledore would help him with Jim, would take him to Hogwarts were it was safe. He didn’t care if his son hated him as long as he was safe.

Sirius ignored the small part of him, the one that sounded like a mix of his voice and his brother’s, calling him a liar.


	13. Chapter 12 - Foresight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one chapter this week I'm afraid, but good news I found my copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix so hopefully I'll be able to start writing more chapters and post them as before.

It took nearly a month after Jim’s unexpected talk with Sirius for both him and Barbara to fully relax after being told he’d left town, Scott and Gulager had both kept an eye on him once they’d been told he was an escaped convict but unable to do anything without hard evidence, something the UK seemed to be refusing to give them, though the rumour was even they weren’t sure what it was he had supposedly done or where he’d been kept, their own higher-ups proving surprisingly silent on the matter.

Jim had spent most of that time training now that he’d settled into a work-life balance that included school, calling on Daylight and Eclipse whenever he had the chance claiming that his encounter with his ‘dad’ had left him anxious and frustrated. Dr. Lake agreed with him having felt the same, though she instead took more time to relax, returning to painting the way she had done when she was slowly recovering her memories about Trolls, several of which hung on various walls around the house. One in particular, a painting of Team TrollHunter including Draal with an image of both Human and Troll Jim hanging on all the member’s walls. She’d painted it shortly after Jim had left, with both versions of Jim, standing back-to-back at the centre with Claire and Toby on either side surrounded by ARRRGH!, Blinky and Draal. Upon their return they’d even done a real life photo copy of them all including Barbara, Strickler and Nomura, and a gap in memory of Draal. Jim still found himself tensing when he thought of his friend falling in the crystal sanctum of Merlin’s tomb, his body turning to stone as he descended through the mists, arms moving and expression relaxing as he emulated his father in his final moments.

Speaking about it was still hard for him, but he was getting better.

Right now he was sat in the HeartStone dwell, Merlin focusing on a small ball of magic in his hands, eyes closed as he worked, Morgan le Fey having left only minutes ago waving her arms in frustration after another one of their arguments only stopped by the young Trollhunter’s entrance.

Jim let out a sigh, head falling back until his horns hit a crystal shard, failing to notice Merlin allow the orb to fade and open his eyes, mouth moving into a wry expression as he looked towards his former champion.

“If you are truly looking for something to do perhaps you should focus on unlocking more of your abilities,”

“Abilities?” Jim lifted his head to look at the Wizard.

“You saw what I could do with the amulet before you faced Gunmar, that doesn’t even scratch the surface. I made that amulet to be malleable, to adapt to every wielder and aid them in unlocking their potential as well as provide a protector. While you can insert stones and crystals into the amulet and utilise their powers, there is still the power it contains bedsides Daylight, and then there is the power you possess,”

“Power I possess? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Merlin gave a resigned sigh before speaking “Every person has potential for something great, but not everyone has a chance to fully unlock that potential or even take it. Sometimes its fear, other times laziness. I believe your fair Claire said something to that effect; quoting a writer or some such, let’s see _‘some people are born great, others become great and others....”_

_“...have greatness thrust upon them’”_ Jim finished.

“Exactly. However even with the amulet it’s wielder’s don’t always unlock their full potential, they become so focused on their duties they neglect all else, whereas others...don’t live long enough,” he almost whispered the last part.

“So....what sort of abilities could I unlock?”

“Well I don’t know now do I? I may have created the thing but even I don’t know the full extent of its abilities in any hands but my own, and now it’s a part of you, even I don’t fully understand what that entails other than giving you the power needed to stand against Gunmar and Morgana without sacrificing your loved ones,”

Jim shot up, his armour clanking his booted feet hit the ground “You didn’t know what it’d do but made me use it anyway?”

Merlin sighed, slowly moving to stand while twisting his back and knees with loud creaking noises, “Ooph, I really need to stop staying still for so long,” he cracked his neck before facing the now angry teen, “I knew the elixir would turn you into a half-troll, as I said before in order to defeat Gunmar, to become the hero of both worlds, you needed to have a foot in both worlds. I knew it would unlock the amulets full capabilities by merging it with you and enabling you to be capable of feats we could not imagine, but as I have said before, repeatedly I might add I do not know everything,”

“But your foresight....?”

“Is not perfect; remember I thought you’d be both older and taller by 14 years when we first met,”

How could he forget, it wasn’t everyday you saw a body covered in cobwebs come back from apparent death.

“I would teach you myself if not for the HeartStone, restoring it to even a fraction of its former glory requires a not so small amount of magic and as such I am unable to divert even the slightest bit away lest Gunmar’s corruption returns. I can however tell you this, the amulet is merely a focus, a tool to help you hone your abilities, with enough practise you might even be capable of wielding magic without it,”

“Magic? Like you?”

“Mmmm, not quite like me, but yes you could potentially use magic beyond that of Daylight and Eclipse, however that is something you will need to discover on your own, I know Blinkous would believe he could find the answer in books but you would need a more practical teaching method I think, something I am unable to provide at this moment,”

The two stood in there in silence. Jim was the first to break it.

“You saw something didn’t you? That’s why you brought it up,”

Merlin nodded, “While your father was here I saw another glimpse of what’s to come. The Darkness in the East is growing faster than I had thought; fed by indolence and a willing blindness I have not seen since Morgana started to take over Morgan Le Fey. And I fear you will be involved somehow. You have done well so far but that was with family and loved ones and yet it is clear to me now that what I saw on the roof that night has not been fully resolved. It may have been enough to allow you to fight, to begin to heal, but you still have a ways to go and should you be separated from those who give you strength.....” Merlin didn’t have to finish what he was saying.

Jim knew, he’d always known, somewhere in the back of his mind, that he hadn’t fully come to terms with his transformation, that throwing himself into school had been an attempt at being fully human, even the intervention hadn’t done as much good as they’d all thought merely forced him to accept the needs both sides placed on him. Not to say it hadn’t helped, but Jim knew without Claire and Toby, without his Mom, Blinky and ARRRGH! he wouldn’t be doing so well, he knew if he was to be separated from them for some reason he’d lose it and be back to square one though he tried not to dwell on those thoughts and focus on the future.

He moved towards the doors, pausing as his hand reached for the handle.

“There’s one more thing I have to ask. You kept referring to me as half-troll, but never half-human, why?”

“Never? I’ve referred to you as half-human quite a few times, _‘Half troll, half boyfriend’_ for example. To be completely honest the clue as to who could finally defeat Gunmar and end the war was in the name. Of course most who knew the title thought it meant ‘a Troll who is a Hunter’, others less familiar with it would think ‘a hunter of Trolls’, and in a way they’d both be right. The Troll part of the title obviously referred to Trolls, but the Hunter part referred to Humans. Trolls have never had Hunters you see, certainly not in the way humans see them, and then of course there are the various labels humans use to define something that don’t really have any accurate counter-part in the Trollish language, ‘boyfriend’ for example is a purely human word, a Troll unfamiliar with its meaning would assume it meant a friend who is a boy which frankly is quite ridiculous considering Trolls have rarely, if ever, defined things by ‘gender lines’ a perfectly sensible thing in my opinion but humans are rarely sensible,”

Jim faced the door, eyes shadowed as he let his thoughts wonder trying to figure out exactly what Merlin meant, slowly pulling the wooden portal open, ignoring the gentle squeak of its hinges.

“Do try to be quiet will you, I’m trying to concentrate,”

Jim smiled to himself at the familiar grumpy tone of the ancient Wizard, letting the door click loudly just to annoy him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The whole language thing is completely made up do not take it as gospel


	14. Chapter 13 - The Problem with Gnomes

Gnomes were tricky little blighters and that was putting it politely. Jim remembered when he’d seen his first gnome and thought it adorable until it bared its sharp teeth and hissed it only got worse when he had to face Chompsky for the first time at barely an inch tall.

Arcadia had come to accept Gnomes in a similar way to Trolls. Some saw them as adorable, if slightly vicious, little creatures that kept pests like rats at bay, others saw them as simple, ecological pest control and put up with them. It wasn’t until a group of Gnomes banded together that they really caused problems, usually it focused itself on Bagdwella’s shop, the Troll somehow managing to earn their enmity in ways no one could explain, though some put it down to her methods of organising her shop, apparently for a Troll she was considered to be a little OCD.

Gnomes had never really ventured beyond the Troll caves and tunnels until the forced evacuation of TrollMarket and now that both Arcadia and TrollMarket were open to each other the Gnomes took advantage, coming and going as they please, though they understood they needed to hide should any tourists be nearby, a tricky thing considering Gnomes had become popular little cleaners in the B&B’s and small hotels which had led to more than one guest wondering if they had mice. It didn’t hurt their profit margins considering Gnomes were surprisingly hygienic, keeping themselves and their homes free of detritus and pests, as long as they didn’t end up in a mug or two of alcohol, though watching them drunkenly climb out of large pint glasses or the even larger Troll mugs was pretty entertaining and a way to keep them docile.

Some had even tried keeping them as pets only to find out they were fiercely independent and did not like to be caged, if they wanted to take part in something, they would, if they didn’t, they wouldn’t, it was a simple system Trolls had long since mastered and humans were slowly discovering if the recent reduction in gnome bites at the clinic was anything to go by. Jim and his mother just thanked whatever higher powers there were gnomes weren’t poisonous.  

Unfortunately there were times the planets aligned, the stars were at their zenith and everything conspired for things to go wrong. In this case it was a lost tourist who had seen several gnomes by being in places he shouldn’t have been, and tried to capture one, worse still, the gnome he tried to capture was Chompsky, a gnome who, thanks to his part in battling Gunmar alongside the TrollHunters was considered something of a hero to the other gnomes. A crazy, slightly insane hero, but a hero none the less.

Now Jim, along with Toby, ARRRGH! and Blinky were trying to catch the cadre of gnomes that had stolen the tourists rental car along with his belongings, while Claire stayed behind with her mother and Detective Scott to do damage control, her skills as an actress and people’s perception of her as a diligent, responsible, polite young lady having come in very handy several times as Jim had discovered on the road to New Jersey.

As previously stated, Gnomes were tricky little buggers, even more so when they had a revenge-driven point to prove.

“I know the pleasure of driving an automobile but this is neither the time nor the place for this!” Blinky yelled through the window as he ran to try and keep up with speeding vehicle, three gnomes balanced precariously on the steering while the others worked the pedals. Jim silently praying they didn’t find the confidence to go faster.

ARRRGH! was having an easier time keeping up, his natural stamina and four legged gait eating up the distance while Toby rode his back trying to gauge the jump.

“This was so much easier with Uhl’s truck!” he yelled, “At least that had something I could jump into!”

“Just keep your eyes on the car!” Jim yelled back, his armour clanking with every step as he put on a burst of speed, slowly closing the gap between him and the others.

Toby was the first to notice the upcoming T-junction, the road abruptly going from south to east and west with a drop into a small river. “Jim I’ve got an idea!” he didn’t even wait before he flung his hammer forwards, flying over the car and landing dead centre in the road, small cracks from the impact forming around the head.

The gnomes panicked, pedalling their little legs to turn and avoid him while the pedal pushers hit the brakes. The car screeched, rubber screaming against the tarmac as it skidded 90 degrees, tilting dangerously as it threatened to land on Toby, only to be pulled down by ARRRGH!, the gentle giant gripping the frame gently in his hand to stop it hurting his Wingman.

“Tobes!” Jim threw himself over the car roof to check on his friend, panic ruling his actions and refusing to let go until he saw him clinging to the extended handle for dear life, his short frame shaking in the few pieces of armour he’d managed to put on when he’d been called.

“Let’s not do that again,” he stammered as his feet searched for solid ground.

“Glad to see you’re okay Tobes,” Jim chuckled as he pulled open the driver’s door and gave the gnomes a disappointed look, the five tiny joyriders huddled on the seat. Jim wasn’t an expert but they made him think of small kids waiting to be told off for something they knew was wrong but did anyway, it was hard to stay mad at them when they were like that.

“Look, I know that guy offended you but you can’t go around stealing people’s cars, it’s dangerous someone could have gotten seriously hurt,” Toby had to bite back a chuckle at the scene, Jim looked just like he used to when he was looking after his mom and she’d tried to cook something while falling asleep at the stove, albeit taller and with horns.

“You gotta admit Jimbo the guy did kinda have it coming considering he broke every single rule and guideline,”

“Not to mention his rudeness,” Blinky panted as he finally caught up with them, “Oh, I’d forgotten how quickly these things can go,”

“Okay, out the car,” It was still a novelty to Jim that he no longer had to hide this from everyone, the days of rushing to put them into a sack and make up an excuse only to blamed by the police long behind him.

The gnomes jumped down from the seat, quickly finding a route safely down to the road, heads hung in shame.

“Think you can get them back to TrollMarket?” Jim looked at ARRRGH! The green covered giant smiled as Toby came up to him, the gnomes already climbing over the two.

“Hey we got this, but uh....how are we going to explain the damage to his stuff?” the four of them looked to see a pile of gnawed belongings piled on the back seat, including an expensive looking camera.

“Coyotes?” Jim guessed.

“I’m pretty sure they’ll know these aren’t coyote teeth marks,” the chubby boy pulled the camera towards him pointing out the small yet obvious nick along the plastic-metal framework and lens, “not to mention he might have gotten some pictures we don’t want getting out,”

“Then how’d you explain it?”

Toby examined the camera before looking at the half-troll, “Uh-uh, no way I’m not eating that the film gets stuck in my teeth,”

“When did you eat a camera? Nevermind, I wasn’t saying you eat it, just chew it a little, give it that mauled look,”

“And the film?”

Toby smirked as he deftly opened the case and popped out the small roll of celluloid and tossing it to a gnome on ARRRGH!’s head, the diminutive creature devouring it in seconds saving a few pieces for his cohorts.

Jim sighed, “Fine,” and took the camera and started chewing the corners while trying to glare at his best friend.

“Well if we’re done here ARRRGH! and I need to return to Troll Market, there’s still much to be done and the night is young,” Blinky hefted himself to his feet from his where he’d slid to the ground, “I’m starting to realise why Vendel was always so grumpy,” he said as he rolled his shoulders.

“See you at Forge?” ARRRGH! asked Toby.

“Not tonight Wingman, got Miss Janeth’s math test tomorrow and,” he shuddered, “Rope climbing with Coach Lawrence,”

“You’ll do fine Tobes,” Jim grimaced as he bit down too hard and took a corner off the camera annoyed at himself for losing focus, “You pretty much aced it after you broke into Strickler’s office and you’ve training since then,”

“That was then, this is now!”

“Whatever you say Tobes,” Jim tossed the now half-chewed camera back into the car, tugging at some of the fabric until they ripped to make it seem authentic, “Right, that should be enough for Coyotes and Raccoons you think?”

“Should be,” Toby shrugged.

“Well if that is all, then we will be off, and good luck on your test young Tobias and you Master Jim,”

“Thanks Blink, see you at the Forge tomorrow, you to ARRRGH!” they watched as the two Trolls disappeared down the road, their leisurely pace proof they no longer had to fear being sighted by humans.

“I’ve let Detective Scott know where the car is, they’ve got the tourist down at the station for the insurance papers so we should be good for the night,”

“I hope so, I thought people knowing what I did was supposed to make things easier,”

“Dude its high school the teachers are always hard on us unless we’re dead and I don’t plan on dying anytime soon, at least now _you_ get extra time when you’re late for a test,”

“Not really a blessing Tobes,” Jim rolled his eyes.

“Says the guy who can now sleep in, in the morning after a night of patrol,”

“Yeah but I don’t get anywhere near as much study time as I used to,”

“I thought Trolls didn’t need to sleep as much as humans?”

“Full Trolls Tobes I still need several hours of sleep just to function,”

“Still more than you got when you were human,” Toby pointed out as they turned onto their road, “and with Strickler dating your mom you don’t need to keep looking after her all the time,”

“Could we please not talk about my teacher and former enemy dating my mom?”

“Hey everyone knows Coach Lawrence is dating Steve’s mom,”

“Yeah but they don’t talk about it,”

Toby came to a halt and began fiddling with his pocket hammer, Jim doing the same shortly after to see what his friend was up to. They stood there in silence for several minutes, the only sound the breeze and a few cicadas.

“Tobes? You okay?”

The short teen just frowned at his hammer.

“Tobes you’re starting scare me,”

“.....something Chompsky said s’been bothering me.”

“Something Chompsky said? You speak gnome now?”

“What’s wrong Jim? And don’t say nothing I know you. You’ve been quiet and moody for weeks now, I understood when your dad was here but now.....it’s like when you tried to stop us from helping you and you went into the Darklands alone, when we had to track the Blood Goblins.....I didn’t even notice until Chompsky pointed it out,”

Toby sighed, putting his pocket hammer away, shoulders falling before he looked up at Jim.

“He said you’ve been moody, angry and sad, he saw you shattering rocks in the back yard and.....he said you haven’t been eating properly, I don’t know what a gnome knows about healthy eating in half-trolls but he said you’ve been skipping meals, the only time you lighten up is when you’re looking after Wally and you....even I noticed you haven’t been volunteering for that,”

“.....Patrol isn’t exactly safe for babies,” Jim hedged, his body tensing as he sensed where this was going.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it. After that intervention I thought we’d gotten past this,”

Jim closed his eyes when he saw Toby’s tearing up, his limbs going limp as he forced himself to face his friend, “It’s not about being half-troll,” he sighed, Toby’s face gaining a quizzical expression as he tried to figure out what he meant.

“After Sirius left I went to speak to Merlin about the amulet,”

“Aaarrrrrgh what did he do now?” Toby groaned, he hated it when Merlin was involved everything always got complicated and messy.

“He didn’t do anything, it was actually going pretty well, apparently I might even be able to do magic but he can’t teach me because of the HeartStone and I can’t exactly ask Blinky and I doubt RotGut’s does lessons-”

“You could do magic? Like Merlin? Awesome sauce!”

“Not exactly like Merlin, but the amulet supposedly helps the user unlock their full potential, now that I’ve ‘merged’ with it I could do even more but I’ve no idea what that is,”

“And that’s what’s got you down?”

“No...well, a little but that’s more...something that makes me even less normal,”

“Dude we’ve never been normal, besides now you’re even more of a superhero”

Jim huffed out a laugh, “Thanks Tobes, but it was something he said afterwards, couple of things really. Apparently the title of TrollHunter was a clue as to who could defeat Gunmar....”

“That makes sense; did you know Trolls didn’t have a word for Hunter until Merlin gave them the amulet?” Jim could do little more than stare at Toby in shock, “what? ARRRGH! taught me a little Trollish while you were gone, apparently Blinky spent over a decade wondering where the hunter part of the title came from and why, then you came back and Claire found out and now I’m trying not to slip into Trollish during Spanish class,”

“You’re learning Trollish? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted to surprise you, even you’re mom’s learning it with Claire’s parents, I think they want to make sure you’re not planning anything under their noses and got Strickler to help,”

“You’re all learning to speak Troll....?”

“Well Nana’s not, at least I don’t think she is but I swear she’s learnt some from Dictatious when she got mad at this guy constantly calling about insurance she used words I’d never even heard of and sounded why too much like Troll to be English and what I did understand.....well I can’t see her as a harmless little old lady anymore,”

“....I can’t have any secrets anymore can I?”

“Someone’s got to save you from yourself Jimbo, besides it’s only spoken, not like they can read it. So what’s the other thing bothering you?”

Jim silently cursed that Toby didn’t get completely distracted, “....Merlin had another vision,” he didn’t need to look to see Toby’s face fall considering their own experience with Merlin’s glimpses of the future had led to his best friend becoming a Half-Troll and nearly forcing him to leave forever.

“He said the ‘darkness’ he saw is growing faster than he first thought and that it’s being allowed to grow,”

“So we just need to prepare right, it’s not like we haven’t got time? Right?”

“He’s not sure, but he thinks I’m going to be involved somehow and,” Jim grit his teeth at the thought, “you guys won’t be there,”

“Well that’s not gonna happen,” Toby scoffed, “We’re Team TrollHunter we’ve always got your back, seriously you’re worrying over nothing, besides whatever this ‘darkness’ is it can’t be worse than facing Gunmar, Angor Rot and Morgana at the same time,”

Jim chuckled despite himself; leave it to Toby to make things better only to pause when they heard a crash from Toby’s room.

“Urgh Chompsky,” the chubby teen whinged, “That gnome is nothing but trouble sometimes, and I’m pretty sure Sally’s helping him,”

“Sally the doll, is helping him?”

“Hey that doll is moving on its own somehow, I’m starting to think Toy Story was onto something,” Toby huffed, “I better go do damage control, that gnome is way too protective of a peanut,”

“See you tomorrow Tobes,”

“See ya Jimbo,” the two headed their separate ways, Toby jogging to reach his room before something was seriously damaged, Jim enjoying a short, leisurely stroll, hoping his look of contentment was enough to fool his friend. Merlin might make mistakes, but his glimpses of the future were pretty accurate. Jim feared he’d be separated from his family once again.

He heard another crash from the Domzalski house and another thought crossed his mind. He needed to keep an eye out for gnomes or he might have to give up on having any privacy in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little 'relaxtion' for our TrollHunters and a glimpse into how Arcadia is dealing with the knowledge of Trolls


	15. Chapter 14 - Shadows of the Past and Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Her name's in the tags but we haven't seen much of her, so here's a chapter from Claire's POV

Claire Nunez had once had her life figured out. She’d graduate High School, go to a good college and pursue an acting career while making sure she had all the necessary qualifications to ensure she had roof over her head and afford regular trips to visit her parents and younger brother.

She was confident she’d also figured out her parents, her Papa was an avid cook who had happily left his old job when they decided to have kids becoming a homemaker before returning to work once Claire started school. He was a caring, if overly protective, figure in her life, her only complaint being that fact he could be such a dad at times.

Her mother on the other hand was an ambitious woman and was determined to have it all; a career and a loving family. She’d become an Arcadia Oaks council woman by accident when her organisation and drive ended up seeing her pushed to the forefront as a candidate and had gone on to win several consecutive elections, working hard even during her pregnancies and not taking a break until the final month. Claire loved her madre but she was often distracted with work and had a tendency to think everything revolved around her, especially during campaign season. Javier had once made the mistake of saying they were too alike only to receive identical glares that promised pain if he said anymore.

It hadn’t taken Claire long to figure out High School. She, along with her best friends Mary and Darci practically ruled the school in a non-dictatorial kind of way with Mary as the one to go to for any news or trends, Darci as the outgoing, free spirit and Claire filling the role of good student willing to lend a hand to anyone. The one person she couldn’t completely figure out was Jim.

When she’d first seen him, Jim had been little more than a somewhat goofy, adorable boy who spent Freshman year as one of the shortest along with Toby until he shot up over the Summer for Sophmore year. She hadn’t known who he was at the time, she just remembered seeing him around school with the short, chubby boy who somehow managed to start trends and cheers by accident, the ‘let him out’ chant he started when Jim had confronted Steve only one in a long line.

She’d never had any real complaints about Jim, he was cute, friendly with a good heart and he even managed to make her smile when he tried to talk to her in Spanish, tripping over his words and saying the wrong thing. It wasn’t until he kept missing rehearsals for the play that she started to have problems with him; like her parents she was driven and cared deeply about things she considered important. It had only gotten worse when he’d destroyed her kitchen while looking after Enrique.

Finding out about Jim’s double life as the TrollHunter had put so much into perspective; how little she actually knew about the world and just how good a person Jim really was, often throwing himself into danger to protect others regardless whether it could kill him. It hadn’t been until Jim had gone into the Darklands alone that she realised how much he meant to her, yes they’d been considered an item at school, and she could see herself settling down with him, but his absence for two weeks risking life and limb just to save her brother had made her realise she could not live without this boy in her life. Even she’d been surprised by how she felt.

When Jim had been turned into a Troll she’d been terrified. He’d already lost so much as the TrollHunter; his chances of graduating school and going to college were becoming increasingly slim; he was growing distant from his mother with all the lies; the only humans he hung out with on a regular basis were Toby and herself, and he was getting into trouble with the law while trying to do his job and figures like Gatto and Usurna kept trying to put him down. It had been nothing but relief when he’d stumbled home, he might have collapsed, but he was alive and home. Claire didn’t care he was no longer completely human, just that he was alright. She actually found some of the changes suited him, like his body had finally grown into the figure he was meant to be, tall, strong, dependable and able to survive hits that would have killed him as a human regardless of the armour. Leaving her parents had been hard, but she refused to leave the boy she’d grown to love face his future alone, he might have had Blinky, but he was still Jim, he still had human wants and desires, not to mention an entire history Trolls couldn’t fully comprehend.

Coming back to Arcadia had been a relief for both of them, made better by the fact they could heal the HeartStone and fix TrollMarket and reunite with their families, Toby and ARRRGH! It gave them a chance to unwind, to not have to worry about being caught by normal humans. It let Claire hold her brother after months of being apart; it let Blinky knock horns with ARRRGH! after being separated for longer than a few days, a first since the battle of Killahead, and it let Jim experience being human again.

Claire knew their lives would never be completely normal, but she thought normal was overrated even before getting involved with TrollHunting, yes it would be hard, but life was hard anyway there was no point worrying about it when you could be proactive and take action, at least that’s what her mom said.

One such way Claire found to ‘take action’ was learning how to wield shadows. Her Shadow Staff may have been destroyed but her time connected to Morgana, and from simply wielding the Staff had left her with a connection to them Merlin had insisted she train in lest she lose control. She’d been reluctant at first, her experiences with the Wizard having been less than ideal until both Blinky and Morgen Le Fey had agreed with him; Blinky from his research and personal experiences knew enough about Shadows that it was dangerous in the wrong hands and needed careful handling lest you lost yourself and Morgan from her own personal experiences and how her own ignorance and pride had aided Morgana in taking over.

So now she was spending a lovely, warm Saturday in the HeartStone dwell, going over the lessons Morgan was attempting to teach her along with several tomes Blinky had leant her that he thought could help.

“So the Shadow realm is its own realm, but it’s also part of other realms?”

“In simple terms yes,” Morgan nodded, “but the realm of Shadows is far more than _just_ a realm, it is a living thing, far greater than the small portion your portals showed you, it is also a meeting place of light and dark, life and death,”

“Some would even call it the source of magic but any competent mage can tell you magic dwarfs the Shadow realm,” Merlin added without looking up from his examination of a cloudy piece of HeartStone.

Le Fey sighed, “While true, in comparison to magic the shadow realm is very small but that is like saying a mountain is larger than hill which is larger than pebble,” she rolled her eyes as she turned back to Claire.

“The realm of Shadows is difficult to condense into a single description; it would be like trying to describe yourself with a single word it just can’t be done without being severely limiting. It’s one of the first things you learn about magic as well, you can’t approach it without an open mind or you are doomed to failure,”

“Glad to see you remembered at least one thing I taught you,”

Morgan groaned, “Contrary to what you believe I did pay attention, and it wasn’t you who taught me that,” She rubbed her forehead with a ghostly hand, “There are times I wish I could do this somewhere else but as I am currently limited to the HeartStone we have little choice,” she muttered.

Claire could already see the argument building between the two and scrambled to avert it not wanting to delay yet another lesson, “You keep using the word Mage instead of Wizard or Sorceress, why is that?”

This time Merlin did look to her, a surprised look on his face, “An intelligent question about magic, that is a first,” Claire tried not to take it personally considering she’d seen the aftermath of Merlin trying to explain proper title etiquette to Toby when he tried asking about magic.

“For once I have to agree, not many think to ask why and instead use titles interchangeably. You see a Mage is someone able to wield magic, this was a term used for most Humans-”

“Technically they were called Magus or Magi,” Merlin interrupted.

“-the title of Wizard was generally reserved for those who’d accomplished great feats or achieved a greater level of understanding of magic; generally those with the title were of non-human origin such as the Fae, though it did happen. Sorceress and Enchanter/Enchantress were similar titles though more specialised in their application, Merlin is considered one of the greatest Wizards because while it’s a relatively general title he accomplished it in more than one field. For a human magus to obtain the title of wizard they often spent decades studying and even then rarely gained more than a basic understanding that others took for granted,”

“When you say specialised.....?”

“It’s like it sounds, if you want a spell to protect a kingdom you’d go to a Wizard, if you wanted to summon a creature to protect your people you’d go to a Sorceress and if you wanted a magical item you’d go to an Enchanter, Merlin can do all of that. A Magus on the other hand can only really manipulate the elements and cast minor illusions, they can increase their power with certain foci but on their own they can rarely affect more than one person without years of training,”

“Huh, that’s actually really interesting, so would a Witch be similar to a Wizard then?”

“No, a witch was someone who could draw power from the Earth, the natural magic around them as well as themselves, there were many human witches, unlike a Mage they were more.....I suppose practical in magic usage, they were the ones who’d combat plagues, help crops grow, brew potions, a Mage generally only flung fireballs and if they put any thought into it cast a protection spell,”

“So could anyone be a Witch or Mage?”

“Yes and No,” Morgan Le Fey stilled, uncomfortable, “to be either you would need access to your own magic, centuries ago magic was wild, touching everything, Avalon was still connected to the human realm and portals through the shadow realm occurred quite naturally so humans could access their own much more easily. Now.....Humans turned their back on magic when they turned to Science, there are still occasional bouts of magic as far as I am aware, and with a creation such as Merlin’s amulet it would be increased tenfold, but otherwise it will only manifest itself in small ways, in you for example. You already sensed when Angor Rot was in Arcadia, while you may not be able to cast magic you can sense it, a very advantageous skill most Wizards take time to learn,”

“Then, if I don’t have magic, how am I still able to use the Shadows without my staff?”

“As I said, the Shadow realm is an entity in and of itself, and by extension so are the Shadows. You used the Skathe-Hrun; you won its loyalty against Morgana, its own creator and for a time your spirit dwelled within the Shadow realm. The Shadows touched you as you touched them and that has lasting effects,”

“That’s been bothering me as well,” Claire looked down as she scuffed her shoe, “I’m just a kid, how did I beat Morgana when she possessed me?”

Merlin was the one to answer, “Morgana claimed to be the Mistress of Shadows forgetting what they truly are, other than the creation of her staff she rarely used them, even Angor Rot had far better skill in manipulating them then she did, though that was more out of necessity than natural talent,”

“What Merlin says is true. When you first used the Skathe-Hrun you had little choice but to use negative emotions such as anger and fear to summon a portal, this constriction is not a natural state for the Shadows, when you won its loyalty you merely had to focus, be it fear, anger, happiness or even love, your use of emotional anchors helped break Morgana’s hold over the staff and in trying to trap you in the Shadow Realm allowed the Shadows to connect to you through the staff itself,”

“And left a part of them in me,” Claire finished, one hand rising to her heart, “So with training I can open portals again?”

“A great deal of training, yes,” Merlin said as he put down his shard and focused on yet another scroll covered in his chicken scratch.

“You must learn to walk before you can run Young Claire, you must also learn to focus and guard your mind for the Shadow Realm can offer glimpses of the future and the past and if you are not prepared you can easily lose yourself to madness,”

“I just wish I could help Jim,” Claire bit out, frustrated at the situation.

“You already help the young TrollHunter in ways no magic can, as do the rest of his friends and family. Do not focus on what you can’t change but on what you can, if the events brewing in the East grow worse we must be prepared,”

“You’re right, it’s just annoying that I can’t help him like I used to,”

“Then that is what we shall do, your homework is to obtain a staff and practise your form, in focusing your body, you focus your mind and the Shadows will respond far more readily to you,”

“Guess my next stop’s the Forge,” Claire grinned, bowing in thanks before she left leaving the two Ancient magic users alone.

“You’ve glimpsed it to,” Merlin said looking up, tired eyes focused on Le Fey.

“Even in Avalon we have felt the stirrings of something rippling from the mortal realm,” the sorceress said expression serious.

 “So our TrollHunter will be involved then,”

“If things continue as they are then he will find himself pulled into this though I cannot see how,”

Merlin looked towards the dwell’s doors, his expression and his eyes showing the millennia he had lived “.....his heart. His heart will be the pull that will have him face whatever calamity is brewing, anything to protect those he loves,”

The Enchantress joined him in his stare, “He is far too much like you when you were young. If we are to help him, protect him, we can only make sure he is ready for whatever he may face,”

In the heart of TrollMarket two beings stood, gaze fixed outwards as the HeartStone slowly healed, powerless to do anything other than guide their charges and hope it was enough.


	16. Chapter 15 - A Rude Interruption

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things start happening

Claire laughed trying hard not to snort her soda as Darci finished explaining what had happened when Eli had brought a gnome to the school and Toby had to calm it down.

“He was chasing it through the vents soaking wet, I don’t know what the gnome did but it collapsed and Toby ended up in the girl’s changing room in the middle of the hockey team’s practise,”

Her attempts proved futile as she felt the burning sensation of carbonated water in her nose, “Poor Toby,”

“It gets worse, the team panicked and started hitting him with their sticks, one of them even got the gnome and hit him in the face out the door so the entire school could see,” The two dissolved into a fresh round of laughter as they tried to bring themselves back under control and not spill their drinks.

“At least now I know why he was so red when he saw them yesterday,” Claire said once she could finally breath normally again.

“Oh TP’s a sweetheart and a real gentleman, my dad actually approves of him,”

“So your dad would let you sleep over at his place,”

“Only if it’s with 50 other people and a chaperone, yours?”

“Dad would lay down some ground rules-”

“No ‘Excessive canoodling’?” Claire chuckled at Darci’s impression.

“Yeah like that, but I think they’d be okay with it, they’ve really started to like Jim,”

“Doesn’t hurt that he saved Arcadia and the World,”

“Or that Troll instincts are different from human ones,”

“I thought Jim was only Half-Troll and can’t he switch back and forth like Mr. Strickler?”

“Strickler’s a changeling, they go from one to the other, Jim’s always half-troll, half-human no matter his appearance, and he got a lot of instincts he’s still not sure how to handle,”

“Like the, I think Toby called it ‘knocking horns’, is that a euphemism for something?”

“No, Troll horns are kinda sensitive around the base, ‘knocking horns’ is literally just bumping horns together, it’s generally only close friends and family members they haven’t seen in a long time but humans are more open with their affections so Jim does it pretty regularly whenever he’s feeling down or just hasn’t seen us in a while,”

“A while being an hour,”

“He’s getting better,” Claire defended, “besides its....sweet, like when you rest your head on Toby, you feel relaxed and just, you _know_ they’re there,”

“Speaking of are you and tall, dark and handsome coming to Spring Fling?”

“Jim’s been looking forward to it considering he missed the last one and I’m guessing you and Toby are going?”

“After he worked up the courage to ask my dad for permission how could I say no?”

“He actually asked your dad?”

“Yep, apparently he thought he’d try to be chivalrous and do it the ‘right way’”

“What about Mary is she going? Who’s she taking?”

“When does Mary ever miss a dance? I think she’s trying to bring Hank this year, or Dean, you never know with her,”

“Tight jeans Hank? Didn’t they break up again?”

“Five times in two months, a lot of Arcadia Oaks Academy is still in denial about the Eternal Night,”

“I guess it’s difficult to accept when your school isn’t the one attacked every other Thursday,”

“A lot of people are still in denial, I know you and Jim are busy trying to rebuild TrollMarket so you don’t see it as much, but if it weren’t for the gnomes and seeing the odd Troll wondering around, a lot more wouldn’t even believe it happened,”

“How couldn’t they believe it, didn’t they see the army of Gumm-Gumms? The giant, evil spell cloud blocking the sun? The damage from said spell cloud?”

“C-bomb people have difficulty accepting anything that doesn’t fit their world view, my dad sees it all the time at work, if it doesn’t fit what they ‘know’ they won’t accept it,”

“That is just depressing,” a familiar voice said from behind them.

“TP!” Darci squealed as she threw her arms around her boyfriend.

“Hey Toby, how was TrollMarket?”

“Busy, Blinky had to mediate another argument and Jim got roped in after we finished the gnome problem,”

“You’re regretting telling him you could speak to gnomes,” Claire smirked.

“I don’t speak to gnomes I just understand what Chompsky’s trying to say,” Toby pouted, “Oh by the way, Jim told me to tell you he might be a little late to Spring Fling, they had to do some maintenance on the Forge and they want to make sure the SoothScryer’s working properly now they’ve got a steady power supply again. So what are we talking about?”

Claire shared a conspiratorial smile with Darci, “Oh just what happened when Eli brought a gnome to school,” she said, enjoying the way the heavyset teen coloured.

“I didn’t see anything I swear!” Toby yelped as the two girls stifled their giggles.

“Relax TP we were just talking about Spring Fling and how much Jim’s been looking forward to it,” Darci put a placating hand on his shoulder.

“Looking forward to it? He hasn’t stopped talking about it for weeks, heck he spent days trying to decide what to wear,”

“Well he did miss last years,” Darci said.

“You’re not the one he dragged to several stores to find something or whether he should go as Human or Troll. And movies make girls out to be the ones who obsess over this stuff,”

“Speaking of obsess,” Darci said as she glanced at her watch, “we better head back if we want to get ready in time,”

“Uhmm,” Claire quickly finished her Soda, “Right with you,”

“Seriously? It’s not even 4; Spring Fling doesn’t start for another three hours!”

Darci gave her diminutive boyfriend a quick peck on his forehead, “Popularity is a lot of work TP,”

“Besides we offered to help Aja get ready, this is her first Spring Fling after all,” Claire grinned as the two hurried out the door leaving Toby standing by the Formica table and questioning everything he thought he knew about girls.

..................................................................................................................................................................

Jim sighed as he rolled his neck to work out the cricks that he’d gotten from the contortionist act he’d had to put on when they were working on the Forge. While it was generally reliable the reintroduction of power from the HeartStone had made it a little unstable, it hadn’t helped that some of their training had been a little ambitious, his hacking of the dummies when Sirius had shown up had left splinters in the mechanics no one had noticed until Blinky had insisted they go over every inch of the Forge. He knew there was still work to do, but it could wait until tomorrow.

_This is Gun Robot pick up your phone_

“Hey Tobes,” he answered as he deftly held it up against his ear.

“Hey Jimbo done with the Forge?”

“Yep just heading home for a shower,”

“Trolls don’t even sweat why do you need a shower?”

Jim chuckled “So are you getting ready for Spring Fling?”

“All done and dusted Jimbo, I’m at Darci’s place, her mom wanted to take photos of us, Claire and Mary before we left,”

“She does know its Spring Fling not Senior Prom right?”

“Don’t question a Mother’s actions Jimbo I never questioned yours,”

“You questioned mine all the time Tobes, and I’m not a mother,”

“Details, so are you looking forward to your first official dance with Claire?”

Jim couldn’t help but think back to their brief moment on the Overlook after saving his mom, nothing but them, his music and a clear night sky, “....yeah, I am,”

“Good because I know she’s not going to say anything but Claire’s looking forward to you taking her home afterwards,”

“Wait, she is?”

“D’uh Jimbo, something about not being interrupted by Angor Rot this time,”

That made more sense, “I’ve got something special planned for after the dance, I’ve already let her parents know so we should be good,”

“Finally finishing you’re first date?” Toby whispered.

“Pretty sure we already had our first date Tobes, beginning and end,” Jim smiled when he saw his house appear at the end of the road.

“I’ll give you the beginning but you never really finished, we were interrupted by Morgana remember? And then the whole invasion, you and Claire leaving for New Jersey, settling back in when you found a HeartSeed, seriously you two haven’t been together on your own for months! Even Mary was starting to comment, MARY! Gossip Queen of Arcadia Oaks High?”

“Okay so we’ve both been a little occupied but we’re busy people with a lot of responsibilities, Claire’s got her entire life ahead of her I’m not going to stand in her way-”

“Don’t go down that road Jimbo you’ll start questioning yourself again and worry about whether you should break up so she can be free and....yeah, Jim please stop questioning the fact we love you, we’re not just going to leave you just because you’re not completely Human,”

“.....It’s hard not to think that sometimes Tobes....”

“I know, that’s why you’ve got us,”

Jim smiled to himself, Toby always managed to get him to smile, “Thanks Tobes, see you at the Dance?”

“See you at the dance,”

Jim chuckled once before tucking his phone away, he could practically hear the shower calling him as he used his human looking, but still four fingered hand, to open the door.

“Mom I’m back, I’m just going up to have a shower,” he called as he hung his bag on the stair post, wincing when he leaned a little too hard and it came loose again, they really needed to fix that. He paused with one foot on the staircase when he didn’t hear a response.

“Mom? You home?” her car was outside and he was pretty sure she hadn’t arranged anything with Strickler with him chaperoning the dance and all. Jim winced as the light of the setting sun glared through the living room window, his senses on alert.

Nothing looked out of place but his mom never refused to acknowledge when people arrived. There was a tension in the air he was surprised he hadn’t noticed. Taking several, deep sniffs he could detect a sense of muskiness, old wood, a faint hint of vomit and paranoia. Someone was in his home. Part of him wanted to shift to Troll form and call his armour but if someone had broken into his home he doubted they knew about Trolls and would probably shoot first out of fear, he needed to find them.

He took another sniff and the smell of surgical spirit, rain and burnt toast led him to the kitchen. His mom was lying on the floor unconscious, glasses asked from where she’d hit the floor. He kept his ears peeled as he listened for any noise while he checked her for injury, sighing in relief when he found nothing, taking her glasses off and putting them on the side so they didn’t make her uncomfortable. Part of him wanted to move her but until he knew they were safe he had little choice but to leave her where she was.

He crept towards the door leading to the hall, his breathing low as tested the air for any sign of the intruder. A floorboard creaked.

Jim leapt forward at the sudden noise, narrowly dodging a jet of red light as it shot past him grazing his shoulder as he turned to face whoever had shot it at him. A heavily scarred man with a peg leg was standing at the bottom of the stairs; a wild electric blue eye rolling crazily dominated what was left of his face. Jim barely had time to say anything, demand to know what he was doing in his home before he was forced to move dodging more jets of light coming from the man’s.....was that a stick?

He ducked as another red light zipped towards him followed by several more each one leaving singe marks as they hit the door and cupboards. Jim leapt into the air, spinning as he kicked a nearby chopping board and waiting for the ever-present knife to land in his waiting hand.

He never found out what he’d do when he hit as he was flung backwards into the backdoor by several of the lights. He growled as he tried to shake it off flinging a plate his mom had left on the draining board at the advancing stranger before he tried to call on his amulet, a growl building in his chest as he glared, the strange burning sensation from the numerous impacts hindering his movements.

Jim never got a chance to incant as the scarred man sent another light, far bigger than the others towards him and he knew no more.

..................................................................................................................................................................

The Spring Fling was in full swing, the lights shone brightly throughout the gymnasium as music filled the room. Some couples crowded the dance floor while others hung out and talked on the bleachers or around the numerous tables that’d been put out. Claire wasn’t sure what this year’s theme was as she straightened the gown of her long purple dress for the 18th time that night, her clutch bag sitting beside her as large eyes scanned the room for any sign of her escort.

She tried not to look at her phone, it hadn’t been an hour yet and Toby had warned he might be running late, but it wasn’t like Jim not to call. No, it was just nerves; Jim would be here he promised.

Claire glanced upwards at the dancing crowd as more moved to the dance floor; the familiar beat of Papa Skull greeted her ears, her legs wanting to get up and join in when she saw Darci and Toby dancing together looking oddly natural together. “Ah Ms. Nunez, not going to be joining the crowd?” she looked up to see Strickler sanding by her table, impeccably dressed as always in his linen jacket and high collared shirt.

“I’m just waiting for Jim,” she smiled.

“And where is Young Atlas, with how much he’s been looking forward to tonight I’m surprised he hasn’t shown up yet,”

“Toby said he might be late with having to sort out some problems with the Forge,” despite her efforts she was sure her own nerves were starting to show.

“I had heard they were having problems but it was my understanding they’d finished some time ago,” Strickler’s brow furrowed, “Have you tried calling him?”

Her shoulders shrugged without her consent, “I didn’t want him to think I was.....” she trailed off as she tried to figure out what she was trying to say; worried? She was that but that wasn’t all. Mothering? Claire knew Jim was more than capable of looking after himself but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be concerned for his well being, then again she didn’t want to be too clingy and make think she didn’t believe in him.

“It’s alright to be concerned over his well being, someone has to considering he rarely gives his own much thought,” Strickler nodded, “I’ll try and contact Barbara, I’ll leave Jim to you,” the changeling principal headed off towards the exit one hand reaching for his phone while Claire took her clutch bag and pulled out her own.

It rang several times before it answered, _“Hey this is Jim Lake leave a message,”_

She tried again, “ _Hey this is Jim Lake leave a message,”_

She was about to hang up and try a third time when Toby came over Darci following, both with concerned expressions on their faces.

“C-Bomb everything okay?”

“No Jim hasn’t shown up yet and he’s not answering his phone,”

“Relax Claire he’s probably taking an extra long shower or something, maybe the Hero’s Forge broke again,” Both girls’ faces had clear looks of _Really?_ directed at him, “I’ll call Blinky,”

“Ah Tobias, what can I do for you?” Blinky’s jovial tones echoed out of the tiny speaker in the way they always did when he was grateful to have an excuse to leave an argument between Trolls.

“Hey Blink did Jim come back to work on the Forge?”

“No we managed to fix our Forge problem several hours ago, plenty of time for him to get back and change for your ‘Spring Fling’,”

“You’re sure? Like absolutely, positively, 100% I-am-standing-in-the-Forge-right-now certain?”

“Funny you should say that as I have just left the Forge and I can say with absolute certainty Master Jim is not here.....why do you ask?”

“Oh no reason, everything’s fine, what’s that Darc? Okay Blinky gotta go bye,” Toby held his phone like it was a bomb as he hung up, “Sooooo, Jim’s not in TrollMarket,”

“And his mother isn’t answering the phone either,” Strickler said as he walked up to the trio.

“Okay now I’m really worried,” Claire stood, brushing non-existent crumbs off her dress before making her way to the door the others right behind her save Darci as she went to alert Steve and Eli, the two of them debating something in the opposite corner.

“We’ll take my car,”

The drive to the Lake house was both the shortest and longest Claire had ever taken silently thanking whoever was listening that the roads tonight were clear and the lights stayed green. In next to no time they were all piling out of the small green sedan and rushing the front door.

Toby, despite his shorter stride was the first to reach it, practically rolling to a stop in the entrance hall while the others skidded to a halt behind him, there worried and confused faces fixed on Dr. Lake as she worked at the stove, her surprise at their sudden entrance plain as she turned to face the noise.

“Toby? Is everything all right?”

“F-fine Dr. Lake,” she looked to Strickler.

“Walt? I thought you were chaperoning the Spring Fling?”

“....I was,” he said, his tone cautious, wary as if something was wrong, “I was starting to worry when your phone wouldn’t connect,”

“Oh that,” Barbara chuckled, “it stopped working earlier today, I was going to see about getting it fixed but it might be easier to get a new one,” she chuckled once more, “I’m sorry if I worried you, did something happen?”

Claire wanted to say something when Merlin strode in, Staff in hand and his calculating gaze taking in everything before him, “I came as soon as we heard Blinky and ARRRGH! will be here momentarily,”

“I’m sorry, who are you?” the four of them froze at Barbara’s question. How could she not recognise the man who’d changed her son into a Half-Troll, the one she tried to bludgeon with a broom?

Merlin shook his head and motioned to Claire and Toby, Claire realised what he meant first.

“Dr. Lake, we can’t find Jim,” four sets of eyes were fixed on the red haired doctor, waiting, worrying. The fearful expression never came.

“Who’s Jim?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'll be honest, I'm not familiar with the American school system and every state has something different according to what I could dig up on google so timewise this is set around May based on what I could find about schools in the state of California


	17. Chapter 16 - Who's Jim? Answers and Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Aftermath

Who’s Jim? _Who’s_ Jim? Who’s _Jim?_ Those two little words echoed around the house. Two words that should never have been said by Barbara Lake. The resident Doctor just looked at them, calm yet curious waiting for an answer. An answer to a question she should never have asked.

“Where is Master Jim?” Blinky’s roar broke the silence as he burst through the front door, ARRRGH! right behind him.

Barbara screamed at the sight of the two Trolls, both taller than her, both panting from exertion and worry, showing their large, sharp teeth. She backed off, one hand searching for something, a weapon, a phone, anything to defend herself with as she her terrified mind tried to figure out why her teacher boyfriend and two of his students weren’t scared for their lives.

“Barbara it’s all right, calm down!” Walter yelled when he saw go for the large butcher’s knife.

Blinky chose the wrong time to move, lowering his staff as he allowed ARRRGH! more room to enter.

Barbara screamed again chucking the knife towards her monstrous home invaders, yelling again when it did little more than bounce off the green one. The old man carrying the staff motioned with one hand and the next thing she knew was darkness.

“What did you do to her?” Strickler demanded, form hunched as he moved into attack position while Claire and Toby caught Barbara before she hit the floor, Blinky picking up the knife and moving it out of the way.

“I put her to sleep before she hurt herself don’t worry,” Merlin made his way to the couch and knelt down as the two teens placed the unconscious woman on its cushions, one hand taking on a faint green glow as he held it near her head.

“I thought you couldn’t use magic ‘cause of the HeartStone,” Toby said, looking vaguely annoyed.

“I’d hardly call this magic,” the man groused, Claire just shook her head at Toby’s look, “As for you five perhaps your time would be better served looking for signs of an intruder,” he had to glare at the five so they’d move, ARRRGH! and Blinky going down to check the basement and tunnel, Claire and Toby upstairs while Strickler searched the kitchen, garden and garage.

The five returned to see Merlin gently placing Barbara’s head on a pillow before slowly rising, twisting his back with a relieved ‘Ooph’.

“No sign of anyone in the basement or the Tunnel,” Blinky said, ARRRGH! nodding in agreement as he tried to take a discreet sniff of the hall.

“No one upstairs,” Toby chimed in.

Strickler shook his head to say the same, pausing slightly when he saw ARRRGH!’s movement, “While there was nothing to indicate the presence of an intruder there was an odd scent, faint as if it were day’s old but....”

“Something wrong,” ARRRGH! nodded.

“Quite,”

Merlin was the only one who noticed Claire tense at the words, “And you fair Claire?”

The girl shifted at the sudden attention, five pairs of eyes fixed on her, “.....It wasn’t a smell but....on the stairs it was like....” she trailed off, licking her lips as she searched for the right word.

“The time you sensed Angor Rot,” he finished, not batting an eyelid, “As I said in your lessons you have a rare gift, a natural ability to sense magic in the area,”

“So Jim was taken by Wiz-ow! Claire!” the heavyset boy whined at the sudden elbow to his gut before catching her look, “Oh, right, so a _Mage_ kidnapped Jim?”

“Possibly, it would certainly seem the most likely explanation with the current evidence,” he looked to the sofa when they heard a quiet groan before turning to focus on the two Trolls, “Perhaps it would be best if the two of you returned to TrollMarket, until we know more about what happened it will be better if she doesn’t see you,”

“You know what happened don’t you?” Blinky accused, six eyes narrowing.

“I have my suspicions, there is one more test I need to try, would one of you three,” he waved to the teens and a human Strickler, “be so kind as to put something by the picture of,” he hemm’d and hawwww’d as his eyes flickered over the number of Troll related paintings in the house, “Vendel I believe,” he pointed to the light coloured canvas hanging near the front door, Vendel’s pale eyes staring out of the frame surrounded by a cream coloured halo.

Strickler was the one to realise what was going on and quickly put his keys on the small side table beneath it before hurrying Toby and Claire to the dining table. Barbara grunted again.

“You two had better leave,” Merlin gave the Troll’s a look his own eyes narrowed. ARRRGH! seemed to understand, grabbing Blinky by the shoulder and dragging him down through the basement before the Scholarly Troll could begin his budding rant.

“I don’t understand, what’s going on?” Toby whispered to an equally befuddled Claire as the two sat at the wooden table, shooting worried glances to their best friend’s unconscious mother.

“Mmmm....what happened?” Dr. Lake slowly sat up rubbing her head as she gently fixed her glasses, the foggy look in her eyes slowly clearing when she looked towards Strickler and the kids, “Walt? What are you doing here?”

The ever-consummate professional , Strickler didn’t even blink as he started to spin his tale, “Nana Domzalski asked if I could keep an eye on young Tobias while she was out, Claire and I decided it was a good time to help him go over his knowledge of history then I was going to make you dinner,”

Barbara smiled at the sentiment, “Oh, that’s sweet but you really don’t need to keep taking of me I’m a grown woman after all,” she made to stand, pausing when she an elderly man she didn’t recognise in outlandish dress sitting on the chair beside her, “Walt? Who is this?”

“Oh, this is-”

“Merlin Emerys, I have been helping these two young creatures with their martial arts, we were scheduled for a lesson today but when they called for my aid I came to see if there was something I could help with,”

“Yes, Professor Emerys is quite the skilled Martial Artist and certainly knows how to help if someone’s had an accident,” Strickler smiled pleasantly, hoping she didn’t see through it.

“Help? Accident? Is someone hurt? I remember.....I remember.....” the small group watched as she trailed off, eyes going misty as if unsure what she was trying to say.

“You slipped shortly after we came in; I was worried you’d seriously injured yourself and called Professor Emerys for help,”

“I did? It must have been some fall, it’s like everything before that is a blank,”

“Not uncommon for short term memory loss in case of head injuries, be glad it’s nothing worse,” Merlin said, the Ancient Wizard giving Strickler a look. The Changeling nodded in understanding.

“Perhaps we should cut this lesson short. Barbara, I’ll give Ms. Nunez and Professor Emerys a lift home and then I’ll be right back to make sure you eat something,” he made a show of patting his pockets, “Oh dear, I appear to have misplaced my keys,” he sent Barbara a silent, pleading look, the red haired doctor responding exactly as hoped.

“I’ll give you a hand,” Toby and Claire just watched, mystified as she searched, walking right past the side table with the picture, the keys sitting in plain view obvious to everyone.

“Is that them by the painting?” Merlin pointed out as she went towards the side table once again.

“Painting? What paint-” Barbara froze, her eye’s fogging over once again as she laid sight on her rendition of Vendel.

“Doctor Lake?” Claire asked hesitantly.

“What...? Oh, keys right,” she quickly scooped up the small pile of metal and leather and handed it to her boyfriend, “Walter is the picture yours?”

“Alas I never had much talent at Art; no it’s something you did while I was away. I will admit I was a little jealous of your ability to paint when you showed me,”

“Me? Paint? But I.....” she shook her head, “never mind, it’s late and you two should be heading home,” she smiled at Toby as Strickler ushered them out the door, Merlin following behind. They waited until they heard the door click close.

“Okay what was that about?!” Toby whisper yelled once they were by Strickler’s car.

“A test to confirm my suspicions,”

“And they would be?”

“She has forgotten about her son and anything connected with Trolls,” Merlin stood by the car, eyes fixed on some distant point neither Toby nor Claire could see, “Someone or Something has tampered with her memory,”

“Tampered? Like Erased?” Claire asked, “But couldn’t you undo it?”

Merlin sighed, his body sagging as he closed his eyes and leant against the car door, “The mind is a fragile thing; to meddle with it is to risk destroying who a person is. While there are spells and tricks that can influence a person’s mind, to make them question what they saw, call to them or even read them, no Mage or Wizard would risk tampering directly with another’s mind with reckless abandon. Which certainly seems to be the case here,” he muttered the last part, eyes narrowed in anger and frustration.

“I recall reading in the book of Ga-Heul about such magicks,” Strickler added, brow furrowed in concern as his eyes flickered back to the Lake House.

“Oh they certainly exist, but they take a lot of time, preparation and care, a single mistake and you would shatter a person’s very identity. I certainly would never cast such a spell unless I had no other option, even Morgana was wary of abusing mind magicks,”

“But you can fix it right? Or at least it’ll wear off like it did last time?” Toby butted in as he danced from foot to foot, equally parts excited for a quest and terrified for his best friend and his mom.

“If you are referring to the breaking of the enchantment between Barbara Lake and Stricklander than that is an example of immense skill. The fact that Vendel was able to limit the memory loss to the events of that day speaks more on his skill with magic and medicine than any recitation or lauding of his skills by others,” Merlin paused to breathe.

“There is hope, however. Memories imprint on our very soul, the reason she remembered last time was due to her connection with her son and his direct involvement in the events, had it been anyone else it is likely she would have remained oblivious. Though that in itself is also a danger, should she be overwhelmed with reminders her mind may very well shut down completely, you saw how she was with a painting she, herself had done. For now we will need to proceed with caution and hope, it’s all we can do,”

That wasn’t good enough for Toby “Isn’t there a spell to counter-act it though?”

“Weren’t you listening? The mind is a delicate place, meddling once is dangerous enough but to do so again would be to invite disaster especially whoever or whatever did that hash of a job on Dr. Lake. There is no spell that can fix this easily, for now we have to watch and wait. In the meantime,” Merlin straightened, his piercing gaze appearing once more as he decided on a plan of action, “You three will need to take over the TrollHunter’s duties in both Arcadia and TrollMarket while also watching over his mother.

“Stricklander, you will need to keep her exposure to the Troll world to a minimum lest she be overwhelmed while you young Tobias will handle patrols and disputes. Get those Creep people or whatever they call themselves to help. You young Claire will continue with your lessons and assist Blinkous with research. I have a feeling this is not the last we have seen of whatever magic was performed here and I want to know how it’s changed, is everyone clear?”

For the first time in a long while the four of them were in full agreement. Their worry for Jim, his mother and Merlin’s warnings of a growing darkness settling over them like a shroud.

“Good, now I’ll return to TrollMarket while you escort the lady Claire to her home,”

As the night continued on they knew they’d only have more questions than answers as they tried to heal the hole that had been torn open, old fears and worries pouring fourth threatening to drown them.

As Tobias sat in his room scribbling down plans and ideas, as Claire explained what had happened to her parents and Strickler alerted the school and Blinky and ARRRGH! began pouring over whatever books they could find for information once Merlin returned, they wouldn’t rest until the missing member of their unconventional family was brought home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we leave Arcadia Oaks to join our Hero across the pond, what will happen I wonder?


	18. Chapter 17 - Awakenings and Familiar Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometime in July....

 

Jim quietly groaned a low rumble in his chest, as feeling slowly returned to his body. The first thing he noticed was the feel of uncomfortable woollen bedding overly stuffed with feathers, the quills feeling like dull pins against his body despite the thick coverings. The second was a tight feeling in his chest accompanied by a sensation of ants crawling under his skin as he opened his eyes, blinking as he took in the darkened room he found himself in, the past few months of being able to waking to a brightly sun lit bedroom having pretty much ruined the natural night vision he’d developed as a Troll. He felt his ears perk up at the distant sound of voices.

“...no idea what he did....or boy.....”

“No....ouldn’t last that long,”

“...omfrey should.....”

Jim winced as he shifted, the burning sensation he felt easing slightly as his limbs began to move and his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. He felt his chest stretch as he took a breath barely managing to hold back a cough from the musty smell that invaded his nose. Slowly sitting up he cast his eyes around for an escape.

The room was old in both style and age. A layer of dust covered everything; from the ancient looking wooden side table to the wardrobe that would look more at home in a castle than what looked to be a dingy apartment. The only areas free of dust were the door and the bedside table.

Jim rolled his shoulders and neck as he tried to get rid of the irritating tightness in his chest, groaning in frustration when it refused. He glanced at his hands; both still a pale human peach colour before quickly searching his pockets and letting a sigh of relief when he felt the amulet sitting snugly against his thigh, the brief touch enough to dispel some of the tightness he felt, only for it to return when he let go. Some kind of magic maybe? Merlin did mention something about using it to practise his focus on his own abilities.

He felt a twinge in his other leg as he moved to swing them over the edge, a tight twanging sensation in his ankle. Gritting his teeth he started rolling it holding in the moan as it eased with the movement. He knew it would hinder him if he didn’t gain an advantage over whoever had kidnapped him. He let his mind flash back to what he remembered; a heavily scarred man with a peg leg somehow flinging multi-coloured lights with a wooden stick had broken into his home and attacked him. Jim was pretty sure the lights were some kind of magic, probably different kinds of spells if their colours were anything to go by, but they all came from the stick? He vaguely recalled Merlin mentioning foci and amplifiers, was that what the stick was? Some kind of wand maybe? He remembered when Merlin had learnt of his portrayal in modern media and the rant he’d gone on when he was shown as an old man barely capable of moving, wielding a wand, that had certainly been something to see, it had taken Morgan le Fey over an hour trying to calm him down before they could get anything resembling calm out of him.

His ears twitched when he heard the sound of footsteps on a wooden floor approaching, the light filtering in just beneath the door flickering as something blocked it. Jim quickly lay back down closing his eyes as he feigned unconsciousness, ears perked as much as they could be while in human form while he waited for the footsteps to get closer. Perhaps he could gain an advantage after all.

The young TrollHunter kept his breathing under careful control as the door opened, the hinges creaking with age as someone entered. Whoever it was couldn’t have been very tall, not particularly heavy either though moved carefully as if carrying something. The sound of shifting metal and glass along with a muffled curse confirmed it.

He felt the newcomer’s shadow and decided now was as good a time as any.

In the time it took to blink Jim had swung his legs out, his feet caught a young woman’s knees knocking her off balance before he threw himself forward, flipping forward, his feet landing on the girl’s back and letting him springboard through the door sending the girl face first into the bed, the tray crashing to the floor as he sped out onto the landing.

The landing was little more than a long, narrow room with a dark wooden floor that reminded him of the Quagawump swamps, an equally dark door opposite and two staircases on one side, one going up, the other down.

Taking his chances Jim flung himself over the short railing landing heavily on the floor below, quickly jumping up prepared to run until he caught sight of several heads below him milling about in what he could only assume was the entrance hall.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

Jim whirled, eyes narrowing as they settled on what he could only describe as a vampire standing behind him. He felt his body tense as he tried to figure out where he’d come from, Jim hadn’t heard a thing and the man’s sallow skin stood out against the gloom like a beacon while his lank hair gave a faint scent of grease and something ever so-slightly floral, but no sound. The floorboards should have given him away and the fluttering of his......robes? should have alerted Jim to his presence.

The young TrollHunter let his body fall into a half-crouch ready to leap at the slightest movement, forcing his muscles to loosen and fighting the urge to shift. Whoever this man was he didn’t like it, Jim was moving the moment he saw the man’s hand twitch and a dark wooden stick appeared in his hand. The coloured lights were quick to follow.

The next few seconds were little more than a blur as Jim let his battle instincts take over, the twinge in his leg returning as he leapt from banister to wall to table to floor, dodging the jets of light with practised ease but unable to get closer unsure of what the vampire was capable of. His hand automatically started to reach for the amulet preferring the comfort Daylight could bring him to the power of Eclipse, ignoring the burning sensation in his chest. He froze when he heard the pounding of feet on the stairs, his five fingered hand quickly darting back to his side as he nimbly dodged another red jet letting it shatter an unfortunate vase behind him.

He made to move again when a shrill screech stopped both of them in their tracks.

“Severus what do you think you’re doing?”

Jim, still crouched and ready to move just watched, blue eyes narrowed as a short, plump red headed woman in a woollen cardigan and apron marched forward, glaring at the vampire-wannabe who remained impassive as she wound herself up for what he could tell would be a long tirade.

“I was merely returning the boy to his room,” Jim felt himself twitch at being called ‘boy’, “seeing as Nymphadora failed to guard him adequately,” he sneered.

“Don’t call me that!” Jim turned his head to see the girl he’d kicked to the floor on the stairs, hair turning an angry red, ignoring the eggs and bacon hanging from her punk-style jacket, if he hadn’t been so mad at being kidnapped he’d have asked her where she got it, Claire would love it.

“It would seem the quality of our Auror’s is slipping,” Jim could practically see the contempt dripping from his words.

“What is going on?!” Jim felt his entire body freeze as a hauntingly familiar voice came from behind him, opposite the crowd of onlookers. He could feel his pupils shrink in anger and fear, a growl building in his chest that threatened to become a roar as the burning feeling in his chest roared into an inferno as he turned. Time slowed as he came face to face with Sirius Black.

..................................................................................................................................................................

It had been several months since Sirius had moved back into number 12 Grimmauld Place, several months of nerves, resentment and anger at being imprisoned in the house he’s spent years running from, but he’d do it if it meant protecting Harry and his son.

He could remember Dumbledore’s expression when he told him of his son, a curious, disappointed look that he hadn’t been informed earlier. The Black scion honestly couldn’t bring himself to care, but he had been hopeful when the wizened professor had promised to send some kind of protection should the worst happen. He’d been thrilled when he was told Moody had been sent, if anyone could protect James Jr. the paranoid old wizard could, he’d been less thrilled to find out that Moody had been Crouch Jr. a devout follower of Voldemort with a hatred of muggleborns that put his own family’s to shame. When he’d come back with an Unconscious Jim, recounting a tale of battle that should have been impossible Sirius had wanted to curse him out but held back knowing that his son was now somewhere he could protect him. After the Third Task everything had been thrown into doubt especially when his son was still unconscious in his parent’s old home.

He’d spent the rest of June and quite a bit of July worrying over his son until Molly Weasley had kicked him out for hovering and Albus assigned rotating guards, citing Sirius’s description of what he’d seen in Arcadia, a town that apparently hadn’t even been on MACUSA’s radar. It had taken days of pleading and begging before Sirius could get anyone to even consider taking Junior to St. Mungo’s if he didn’t wake up. If he was still unconscious by August Dumbledore promised to take him there himself.

Now, with everyone preparing for the arrival of the Weasley clan and Hermione Granger in the next few days Sirius was brooding in his room with BuckBeak, the regal Hippogriff proving to be better company than the humans downstairs.

He wasn’t sure how long he was in his mother’s old room when he heard the commotion outside, the sound of spell impacts and breaking furniture echoing throughout the Black townhouse. Quickly leaving the room with as much respect to Buckbeak as he could muster in his hurry, Sirius flew down the stairs, coming to a dead halt just before he reached the second floor landing.

Everyone currently staying the house, a grand total of nine wizards and witches not including himself and Jim were gathered by the first floor stairs, crowded around the banister while Molly Weasley marched up to Snivillus and worked herself up into a furious tirade, though that wasn’t what caught his attention. More surprising than the current absence of his mother’s portrait’s shrieking was the presence of his son; awake, standing and glaring at the people in front of him.

For Sirius it was if timed had come to an abrupt halt at the sight. His son who he had feared was dead from Barty Crouch Jr’s attack was alive and well in his home, despite his crouched pose his height was no less impressive and he was clearly capable if the numerous scorch marks on the floor, walls and ceiling were anything to go by, though why there were scorch marks-

He saw Snape’s wand, out and ready to use.

“What is going on?!”

With the sudden shout time began to move once again as numerous heads turned to look at him instead of the war-torn landing, one face the one he wanted to see most, though the expression wasn’t.

“YOU!” Everyone was shocked by the roar that came from the teenager before them.

Sirius blinked in surprise as he found himself held up against the wall with his son’s arm at his throat as he literally growled at him, teeth bared and eyes narrowed in rage they were almost glowing.

“What did you do?”

Sirius panicked, unsure what to do. If it had been anyone else he’d have had his wand out and _stupefy_ -ing whoever attacked him, cursing in some cases, but this was his son. He choked out a huff as the arm pressed down harder.

“What did you do?” Sirius’s grey eyes managed to focus on his son’s face, the shadows throwing his features into sharp relief giving him an almost monstrous appearance as they darkened his skin and made his eyes appear to shine an angry blue, even his teeth grew into fangs as he continued to glare at the helpless wizard.

“What did you do?” the quiet hiss was far more terrifying than the furious roar as Sirius managed to reach on hand and clutch his son’s arm.

“I’m t-trying.....to p-protect you,” he felt the pressure lessen as Jim gave an incredulous snort.

“Protect me? You kidnapped me! What just because I wanted nothing to do with you, you thought you could get away with just taking me? And what did you do to my Mom?!” the sudden increase in pressure caught Sirius unprepared, the spin making it worse when he caught a flash of red light flying towards where his son’s unprotected back had been, disappearing into the darkness of the house.

“Y-you were in.....d-danger on your own-”

A sudden shove had him spluttering, “Why?! Why would _I_ be in danger?!”

“B-because.....you’re m-my s-s-son,” the next thing he knew Sirius was flying through the air. He felt the impact of a spell on his back, ropes appearing out of nowhere and surrounding him before letting him hit the floor.

Jim straightened as he allowed his heart rate to calm, the rage to recede as his eyes flickered between the small group of humans and his father, now tied up in ropes he knew were originally meant for him. Quickly deciding the group was the larger threat Jim focused on them, particularly the sallow-skinned man doing a convincing bat impression while holding a dark wooden stick towards him. Their eyes met.

The young TrollHunter found himself blinking rapidly as he felt a pressure building up behind his eyelids, the desire to shift into his more natural Troll form rising as a low growl built up in his chest and the burning sensation in his chest returned. He saw the man-bat’s eyes twitch. Lunging forward he felt a pulse in his chest where the amulet would sit and the Man stumbling shortly afterwards, he didn’t know how, but Jim knew they were connected somehow, his instincts once more clamouring at him to finish the fight and escape, though his more rational side demanded he wait until he knew more about what these people were capable of and what they had done to him.

He made to leap once more when he felt it.

A pulse, faint, but still stronger than anything he’d felt so far as the faint scent of fire, books and citrus wafted up the stairs. Jim had been around Merlin long enough to recognise magic when he felt it, though this felt very.....dim compared to the blazing sun that was the ancient wizard, only noticeable by its sudden appearance and the odd contradicting scent that accompanied it.

He shook his head to clear his mind as he allowed his body to fall back into the battle stance he’d been in unsure of when he’d fallen out of it, probably when he detected that strange scent. He rolled his shoulders as his eyes found the man-bat once again, ignoring Sirius, still tied up between them, as he made to leap.

He never left the floor as an old grandfatherly voice spoke up.

“Is this a bad time?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my best but reunions like this are....really hard to write.  
> So things are moving on and we might be getting some answers


	19. Chapter 18 - Wizards and Magic (Welcome to No. 12)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning, the POV in this jumps a few times, apologies in advance

Jim sat at a long wooden table in what had to be the grimmest kitchen he had ever seen, and that’s including the time his mom tried to make a full Christmas dinner when he was seven and the time Blinky had tried recreating a human kitchen in TrollMarket as part of his attempts to better understand human behaviour. The young half-troll couldn’t help but grimace at the sight of a smoke covered ceiling and dust laden counters that filled the otherwise cavernous room, struggling to take shallow breaths to avoid breathing in whatever had made itself at home and the permanent smell of fire in the stove, the only source of light in the basement kitchen.

The sound of moving cutlery echoed as the plump red-headed woman made herself busy in an attempt to stay in the room and contribute to the small gathering of strangely dressed adults. Jim mentally scoffed as he took in the robes they all wore, each of them unique but all of them striking him as outrageously impractical for just about everything.

His blue eyes snapped back to the table, glancing briefly at the old man in garishly coloured robes that seemed to be trying to fight back against the gloom of the house as if they’d been insulted. Everything about him looked like an eccentric grandfather figure right down to the long beard tucked into his belt and the twinkle in eyes hidden behind half-moon spectacles, and yet every instinct Jim had was telling him to beware of the man; every instinct, every clue and feeling from his scent to small movements he only saw thanks to his experience and training as TrollHunter, this man was dangerous and shouldn’t be underestimated.

The teen’s eyes flickered over the others sitting around the table, an African man in purple and gold robes sat straight on the uncomfortable looking chair next to the pink haired girl he’d knocked out in his attempt to escape. Opposite them sat the batman wannabe, his sallow face standing out like a beacon in the darkness while his dark eyes sneered at everything and everyone in front of him, and next to him was the heavily scarred, peg-legged man who’d kidnapped him. Jim allowed his own rage to show as his eyes flitted over him, feeling oddly pleased as both the man’s normal, and electric blue false eye focused on him, a small twitch of his arm towards the stick Jim knew was waiting in a hidden holster should he try anything.

The only other person, besides the red head, was his father. Sirius hovered in the shadows, shoulders hunched and hands fidgeted nervously as Jim glanced at him, face blank as he tried to figure out his role in all this, Jim knew Sirius was involved, but he wasn’t sure how, and what he’d said earlier.....what did he mean?

The sound of the clock on the ground floor above chimed loudly throughout the house, the sound echoing off the wooden floors and stairs, deep into the stone of the basement kitchen. To Jim’s sensitive ears it was like a horn being blown in the room, judging from the unmoved expressions of the human adults facing him, he doubted they heard much more than a few tinkling bells.

Jim’s eyes focused once more on the old man, a brief tingle behind his eyelids arose once again until a pulse from Eclipse dispelled it, he almost missed the flicker of surprise on the man’s face. Almost. He resisted the urge to growl and bare his teeth in anger, a year of getting used to new instincts finally coming in handy as he found himself once again hiding the existence of Trolls.

“....You have questions,” the old man eventually spoke, his tone of voice was calm and understanding but his eyes had lost their earlier twinkle, “Allow me to introduce myself, I am Professor Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts school. With me are Professor Snape,” he gestured to the black-clad man, “Auror’s Kingsley and Tonks,” the pink haired girl and the man in purple and gold nodded their heads in greeting allowing Jim to see purple’s earring as it swayed with the movement, “and of course you already know your father Sirius. It is thanks to him that we learnt of you and the danger you are in,”

Jim snorted, danger, right; the guy who defeated a millennia old Troll bent on eradicating mankind and fought against an evil more ancient sorceress/entity thing who wanted to destroy the world, and survived, was in danger. Part of him wanted to summon his sword and charge his way out of here, though he could still feel a faint twinge in his ribs and legs and considering the powers they’d demonstrated he couldn’t guarantee he’d get out unscathed without seriously hurting someone.

“...and what danger would that be?” see Blinky he could be civil even though he wanted to go full TrollHunter on them.

Dumbledore was the one to answer, Sirius shrinking in on himself as Jim’s gaze briefly passed over him though he derived no pleasure, just a feeling of apathy towards the man who could have been his dad.

“My boy,” Jim’s eye twitched, he was not this stranger’s ‘boy’, “I understand this might be new to you, but our worlds have lived alongside one another peacefully for centuries, in part thanks to the Statute of Secrecy. It pains me to say however there are some in our world that believe themselves to be superior to non-magical folk, that is, Muggles, of which your mother is one. Your father on the other hand,” Dumbledore waved a hand to Sirius, “is what is known as a Pureblood, he was born into a magical family,” Dumbledore paused as if letting the information sink in.

“A little over fifteen years ago a Wizard,” Jim’s eye narrowed. Wizards? He still remembered Merlin’s explanation about the various titles that were bestowed on practitioners of magic and their slow fading from the world as humans turned more and more to logic and science was Merlin wrong? Or was this some kind of cult thing? “-named Lord Voldemort rose to power, he amassed a large following, larger than many others in recent memory, and began a reign of terror throughout Britain. Of course there were those who opposed him, your father was one such person, he was attempting to recruit aid from the American Magical Congress, I believe that was how he met your mother,” Jim saw Sirius give a small nod out of the corner of his eye.

“Of course then the events of Godric’s Hollow happened and your father was falsely imprisoned for it. Many believed Voldemort defeated for good, however it was recently revealed to some, that Voldemort survived, and earlier this year, managed to find a way to come back to regain his body. Unfortunately many in our world refuse to believe this and his followers have taken steps to discredit anyone who could oppose him. It was only recently revealed to us that Sirius had a son, and as such, we have had to take steps to ensure your protection from anyone trying to capture you and use you to gain an advantage,”

Jim blinked. He may not have been the most studious of students but he did well enough in class until the whole TrollHunter thing happened, but everything the old man had just said might as well have been Greek for all the clarity it brought.

“...and you think that gives you the right to kidnap me?” he felt his jaw move automatically as he bared his teeth, thankful that he didn’t shift into Troll form, though he could feel a phantom itch where his horns and fangs would be as the magic strained.

He was at least able to enjoy the flinch from the pink haired woman, Tonks? And Sirius, guilt clear across his face.

“If you had come quietly-” the sallow faced man sneered only to glare as Jim interrupted.

“Quietly? I came home to find my mother unconscious on the floor and a stranger in my home flinging around jets of light, and you think I should have ‘come quietly’?” He saw Sirius perk up and shoot a glare towards Snape while Dumbledore glanced away, did Sirius not know?

“He attacked Barbara?” Sirius all but roared, at least that answered one question.

“What’s done is done,” the red headed woman, Dumbledore never gave her name, butted in, “In hindsight he wasn’t the ideal choice but you have no right to take it out on Severus and Dumbledore,” the stout woman glared Sirius, in the past Jim might have been glad, but now? Something was wrong with this picture.

Most would have missed it, and those who did notice? They would have disregarded it as a figment of their imagination as Jim saw the slight straightening of several of the ‘wizards’ at the table, including Batman and Dumbledore as they looked towards Sirius, their eyes, or Dumbledore’s at least, exuding a sense of patience and humour but also rebuke as if they actually listened to what he had to say.

Dumbledore sighed in mock regret, at least that’s how it sounded to Jim, “Like Molly has said, what is done, is done, do I regret sending who I thought was my friend to protect your son? Yes, but he is here now and there is little else we can do but ensure he is safe,”

“ _He_ would like to know what _exactly_ happened,” Jim growled out through clenched teeth, the itching in his gums reaching fever pitch as body tried to decide whether to switch to Troll form or remain in his human guise.

“It’s been a long-”

“No,” that one simple word, ground out by a tall, dark haired teenager, was somehow enough to startle Dumbledore into silence as he tried to regain control of the situation, his periwinkle eyes dimming behind his half-moon spectacles as he tried to figure out the young man in front of him.

“You are going to explain what happened, why I’m here and then I am going home, away from you so-called wizards to make sure my Mom is alright,”

“My boy-”

“I am not your boy!” Jim roared, hands slamming onto the table as he snapped upright, his not inconsiderable height towering over the small assembly, shocking them all into silence.

“Alastor Moody was the one sent to retrieve you,” Sirius was the first to speak up, dark eyes focused on the floor as he tried to avoid his son’s gaze, blue eyes so like his mothers they made it difficult for the escaped convict to remember what he had done, retreating into happier memories, “Or at least, we thought he was Alastor Moody, turned out he was Barty Crouch Junior, a convicted death eater, one of the Dark Lord’s most devoted sycophants, heck he’d put my own mother to shame with his hatred of Muggles,” the dog animagus slowly looked up, the entire table focused on him, Molly and Dumbledore in disappointment while Snape rolled his eyes. Tonks and Shacklebolt on the other hand held a resigned expectation in their eyes, knowing they’d have to tell his son the truth sooner or later. He didn’t care about their reactions, he only cared about Jim’s, dark eyes drifted over to his giant of a son as he slowly lowered himself back onto the bench, eyes fixed on him as he waited to hear more.

Sirius sighed and continued, “Turned out he’d escaped and had been posing as Mad-Eye for the school year in order to enter Harry into the TriWizard Tournament and resurrect his Master, but not before Dumbledore asked him to bring you here to safety. When he came back with you he said you’d resisted violently and he had to use force, we didn’t even think to question it and then there was the disaster that was the third task and...” Sirius let out a heavy sigh, “Everything went wrong, Voldemort was back and the Ministry’s doing their best to deny any rumours about it, Harry’s stuck at the Dursleys and you’re in danger!”

Jim closed his eyes as he felt his own anger and frustration building again, both halves of the amulet humming as he felt the magic of both Daylight and Eclipse respond to his unspoken desire for something familiar to latch onto. He deliberately took a loud, deep breath in through his nose before exhaling, just as loudly, as he tried to recall the brief lesson on meditation Claire had tried to give him during their journey to New Jersey, and to let the others in the room know he still wasn’t happy with them no matter how obnoxious or petty it might seem.

Sirius could only stare as his son’s eyes opened with agonising slowness, the beautiful blue orbs he’d inherited from his mother, hard and unfeeling as they gazed around the room, though the heavy breathing had at least stopped.

“So this ‘friend’ you sent to ‘fetch’ me, wasn’t a friend, I’d have thought you’d be able to tell if he was actually you’re friend but that’s just me,”  Sirius saw both Dumbledore and Molly move to speak only for Jim to beat them to it, talking in an oddly formal, stilted manner that Sirius decided didn’t suit him at all, “A ‘Dark Lord’ called ‘Voldemort’” Sirius had never heard such contempt and sarcasm put into a single word but the way he said Voldemort made his mouth twitch in an attempt to smile, “came back from the dead but your...ministry? is refusing to believe it and for some reason you still haven’t explained you think I’m in danger which apparently gives you the right to invade my home and kidnap me!” he wasn’t standing this time but Jim still managed to tower over them.

“If one of Voldemort’s followers were to find you they could use you to force your father,” Sirius tried not to wince at Jim’s snort when Dumbledore said father, “and by extension us, out into the open eliminating any opposition he has, in bringing you here we can protect both you and your mother from him and his followers,”

Sirius could see how the others let their guard down as Dumbledore calmly folded his hands in front of him thinking the discussion ended. He was the only one who saw the odd tensing droop of Jim’s shoulders, the small sardonic grin creeping onto his face that Barbara also had whenever she caught someone out and was about to let them know it. Sirius knew how dangerous it could be to let yourself think you’d won an argument against a Lake.

“And how would they have known about me?” Bingo, Sirius tried not to chuckle as he felt the tension in the room ratchet up to 11, “You said it yourself you didn’t know about me until Sirius told you, so how would ‘Voldemort’ or his....what did you call ‘em? Death Munchers? Grave Gobblers? Whatever, how would they have known about me unless one of you told him?” it wasn’t just Sirius’s imagination that Jim’s gaze lingered on Snape was it?

“Perhaps he doesn’t know his father’s a wanted felon,” Snape sneered down his nose at Sirius, “Or that the Ministry is doing everything they can to apprehend him,”

“He may have mentioned some sob story about wrongful arrest and no trial,” damn his son could put Snape to shame with his dry tone, had he ever considered acting? “It’s not like there’s any paperwork tying him to my Mom,”

Sirius spoke up before anyone else could, “I saw the statue,” he couldn’t be sure but he thought he saw Jim tense, though not in anger this time, “The one with the remembrance plaque, interesting dedication, unusual choice for a statue though,”

Jim’s face seemed to shift through several expressions, too fast to make out but telling enough that Sirius knew Jim knew something about it, and was hiding it.

“There was an Earthquake, over a year ago now, a lot was lost, as for the statue, he’s.....kind of a local legend, a protector of sorts,”

“A protector?” Tonks asked, the first thing she’d said since they sat down.

“Yeah, you’d be better off asking Eli about it he was more into legends and conspiracies but...the Earthquake happened during the Battle of the Bands,” Sirius remembered the Battle, it was a yearly tradition in Arcadia since the ‘60s or ‘70s, he’d loved going to them with Jim and Barb, the noise, the closeness, the sheer chaos it always seemed to inspire and so utterly Muggle his parents would have hated it on principle, “someone had dressed up as him and ended up helping a lot of people when the ‘quake hit. When the town started rebuilding the statue needed to be replaced ‘cause of the damage, people thought of the legend and...That was that I guess,” Jim shrugged helplessly, eyes wide and pleading.

“And the writing?” Shacklebolt this time.

“I just told you about the ‘quake-”

“Not the English dedication, the symbols after it. Sirius gave us this as proof,” Shacklebolt pulled a small photograph Sirius had managed to take with a disposable camera he’d found before leaving. It showed the plaque beneath the statue, both the English wording and the strange rune-like symbols that followed, too deliberate to be vandalism but no kind of recognisable structure that they could see, only bad memories and rumours of dark magic.

Jim made a show of learning forward to look at it, “You mean the symbols? I think there was some kind of contest about how to decorate it and this one won; I was away looking at colleges with my girlfriend when they did it so....” Jim shrugged, uncaring.

Sirius didn’t buy it; neither did anyone else if he was any judge, though no one said anything. They didn’t know if Jim knew the true significance of the symbols and was hiding it out of ignorance, or if he was involved and aligned with another group of dark wizards.

Dumbledore gently clapped his hands together, the sound somehow echoing throughout the room and commanding their attention, “I believe it is getting late, perhaps it would be wiser to reconvene another time when all our heads are clearer,”

“Hang on you still haven’t explained-” Jim couldn’t even begin his outburst before Snape was interrupting.

“Enough. Headmaster it’s clear the boy knows very little, though considering his parentage,” Sirius glared at the condescending look Snape gave him, “that isn’t surprising. Continuing with this line of questioning is a waste of time,”

“I actually agree-”

“Stay out of it _Snivellous,”_ Sirius growled.

“Enough!” Jim yelled again, “Will someone just tell me where I am so I can go home!”

“My boy we’ve already told you-”

“I am not your ‘boy’!”

“Clearly he takes after his father-!”

The clattering ring of a saucepan being pounded with a wooden spoon silenced them all, six pairs of eyes turning to face Molly Weasley, the red haired matriarch clutching a large iron pan in one hand and the spoon in another, her face red with anger as she glared at the assembled gathering.

“That is enough. Jim I’m sure you’re scared after what you’ve been through and considering how that....that....fraud! attacked you, but Dumbledore is right, if you stay in Arcadia you and your mother are in danger, so please just listen to us, we know what we’re talking about. As for you Severus, he just found out his mother was attacked by a murderer and you want to berate him after waking up in a strange home....”

Sirius tuned out as Molly started berating Snape for his attitude, instead heading over to Jim, shoulders hunched as he tried to forget how angry he knew his son would be with him.

“I’ll show you were you’re sleeping,” he’d never admit how happy he was when Jim just grunted and followed him out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the entrance hall, “Molly’s kids will be arriving soon so you’ll have someone your age to talk to,” no sound other the creaking floorboards, “I can give you a rundown of the house and the Wizarding world tomorrow if you’d like,” no answer.

Sirius swallowed heavily as they stepped onto the first floor landing and headed to the next flight of stairs, “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry this happened Jim, I only asked Dumbledore to arrange some kind of protection, not drag you here against your will,” a huff of air was his only reply as they stopped outside one of the rooms that had been cleared for the Weasley boys, “I’ll find out what happened to Barbara, Crouch said she was just unconscious but now....she’ll be okay Jim,” Sirius looked up to see his son level a blank stare at him, his eyes somehow deep and dark yet as cold and hard as ice.

“Just tell me this; where am I?”

Sirius gave a humourless snort, “Welcome to the Black Family home,” he spread his arms in mock celebration, “A bastion of all that is good about the Magical world; Number 12 Grimmauld Place,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm not happy with this but I really want to move on with the story and if I try and fix this that won't happen, I might come back and edit it when it's complete, but.....for now enjoy Jim's time at number 12


	20. Chapter 19 - Invasion of the Reds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read on please read this. First I am sorry it's late but I really wanted to get this out Friday and it was proving difficult to write.  
> Second: I've been toying with the idea of Jim unlocking a new weapon or armour during this, part of the whole Amulet being able to adapt beyond the foresight of its creator spiel Blinky and Vendel gave Jim when they were experimenting with stones, maybe tie it in with Angor's eye seeing as he used magic, but I couldn't decide on my own so I thought I'd ask you, the reader, for your opinion, just leave it in the comments below.

It had been two days since Jim had woken up in this, frankly, depressing house. His nerves had eased after his first day as he grew accustomed to his surroundings, eyes and ears cataloguing everything as he thought of ways to escape and return home, the only real complication being their magic. He knew it wasn’t as strong as Merlin’s, their reliance on ‘wands’ as they insisted on calling them proof of that, the foci providing some kind of boost to their own abilities as well as focusing their power. Then of course there were his own injuries. He knew nothing was broken but the constant twinge in his leg and his chest were beginning to concern him.

His leg he could shake off, it was already starting to ease up; the only real concern in that respect was that it had been injured at all with no outward sign. His chest on the other hand was. It was faint, but noticeable. Centred around his heart were his amulet would sit in Daylight, of course it wasn’t his heart, if that was the case he wouldn’t have been able to perform all those acrobatics during his first escape attempt. No, he knew it was connected to the amulet, though whether it was due to only being half or something else he had yet to determine. If he could find a moment of privacy to summon his Eclipse armour he knew he could figure it out, but in a house of moving pictures and nosey adults determined to ‘protect’ him he knew that wouldn’t happen anytime soon.

It didn’t help that his go to form of stress relief was denied him. Not training in the Hero’s Forge, though even he’d admit that was tied second with talking to his friends, Tobes’ sense of humour and Claire’s way of simplifying things always seemed to make whatever burden he happened to bear so much easier unless it directly involved them (see: The Darklands) No, the red haired woman, Mrs. Weasley, had barred him from the kitchen. A source of relief he’d relied upon for the majority of his life, resigned to having lost it during the journey to New Jersey after accepting it as an acceptable trade off for saving his loved ones (and the world) only to see its return when they found a way to bring his human half forward for it to be cruelly stripped away from him by a matronly busy-body who refused to let him within ten feet of a butter knife as if he was a 3 year old about to cut himself playing with a butcher’s cleaver!

Needless to say Jim was frustrated and his patience, and human form, was wearing thin.

Instead of dwelling in is anger, and growing hunger, for once he was actually looking forward to a meal of knives and forks instead of steak, Jim chose to focus on planning, the action letting him focus his mind on something productive. It wasn’t cooking but it would do.

Watching the actions of the people in the house was surprisingly cathartic, and informative. Objectively Jim had known that knowledge was power, the number of times he’d surveyed the battlefield without realising was beyond counting; the information in the books Blinky provided (when he eventually read them) had improved his skills immensely simply from having a better understanding of the why’s and how’s, hell taking care of Chompsky had made every gnome problem afterwards a cinch. It was how he knew these people had no idea what they were doing.

They had claimed to be fighting against this so-called Dark Lord during his initial meeting when he’d woken up, supposedly using what they’d learnt during his first reign of terror. Jim may have avoided being in the same room as the ones he’d first met, but he was starting to think that anyone who had any idea what they were doing had either been killed the first time or had left to do their own thing, judging from Moody, the only one he could confirm had seen battle, he had a sinking feeling it was the former.

He rarely saw the old man, his brightly coloured robes and the smell of lemon that followed him everywhere only made flying visits, coming and going at all hours and looking increasingly tired under his half-moon spectacles, not that anyone noticed. The Bat was similar, his visits brief though that seemed more to do with his weird enmity with Sirius, whether he was tired was impossible to tell with his sallow skin and the shadows cast by his hair and robes.

The Tonks woman was young, naive, and constantly tripping over everything; it was how he’d been introduced to the portrait of his grandmother, the image of a yellow skinned woman in a black cap that could have landed a role in any zombie movie shrieking at the top of her lungs had not been a pleasant encounter, especially when she spouted such vile and vitriol that would have made a racist sailor look away in shame. Apparently they hadn’t been able to remove the portrait and instead hid it behind a pair of curtains. Jim suggested paint thinner.

Kingsley was clearly torn between what he felt was the right thing to do and his duty as an ‘auror’ and he seemed to hang onto Dumbldore’s every word. From what Jim could determine there were several like that in this so-called ‘Order’ though what their names were he had no idea.  Moody clearly believed in what Dumbledore was saying though he didn’t trust anyone and out of all of them had the most experience in combat though from some of the tales he’d heard from other members he’d rarely, if ever taken a life even if it would had prevented the loss of life later.

Lupin was another figure Jim had been introduced to, an attempt by Sirius to offer some kind of outlet as well as explain the wizarding world better. He was told he’d been a teacher and an excellent student though his circumstances meant he’d fallen on hard times. It wasn’t until a brief conversation between the two that Jim realised he was also fishing for information and revealed he was a werewolf, a pretty sick one if his nose was any judge, the smell of sad dog a constant presence along with a hint of iron and self-loathing. Jim knew self-hatred when he smelt it and if it wasn’t for other people dragging him along, he doubted this Lupin guy would still be alive or sane.

Then of course there were the ‘non-combatants’ as Jim had called them in his head, the people who’d answered a call despite having never fought in their lives. He could understand wanting to stand up and do something, heck that’s what he’d done when he picked up the Amulet and become the TrollHunter, not that it had given much choice once he had, but these people....they had no idea, they acted like this was some kind of fantasy film, that they would fight the good fight and everything would work out for the best they were in no way prepared for the loss they would face or the fact that this....Vanguard would have to take lives if they wanted to survive, if they wanted anyone to survive. If it was as bad as they were making it out to be, some of their attitudes made it seem like a waste of time, a childish spat with a pre-determined outcome.

As long as he ignored Mundungus Fletcher and Molly Weasley. The former he only knew from an unfortunate encounter the day after he’d awoken when he caught the squat, unshaven man, who reeked of alcohol and stale tobacco attempting to steal his amulet from its place on the dresser and feigned innocence when Jim had grabbed his wrist and held it tight enough to hear the bones creak. He wasn’t sure if his form had slipped and was thankful for the darkness of the house when he’d let slip a growl that had made his already pale skin, whiten even further, his permanently blood shot eyes widen and he’d run out of the house faster than the Gyre. Apparently this ‘Order’ wasn’t above recruiting thieves and robbers for their cause and casually overlooking any law breaking they may have done. After meeting him Jim would rather work with a Gruesome. Molly Weasley on the other hand was another matter entirely.

Molly Weasley had a lot of children that was made apparent by the fact that every conversation inevitably ended up being about them. Whenever Jim tried to find out more information about this Dark Lord or going home she would always pipe up with a “Bill this....”, “Charlie that...”, “Now the Twins....”, “Hope Ron....”, “Then Ginny...,” and the occasional “But Percy.....” considering the latter was much rarer (as rare as it could be in less than two days of conversation and was mentioned a grand total of nine times) it sounded like something bad had happened between them. Jim understood that, the proud parent, his Mom had been the same when he was younger and taking more responsibility she felt the need to shout out to the world, it had been embarrassing for seven year old Jim when he was sick and she had to take him to work with her. He’d spent most of it hiding from her as she lauded him and his achievements to her patients and co-workers. She’d gotten better, at least she did when he wasn’t around now, but this woman took it to another level.

If he had to compare her to his mother, the only things they had in common were red hair and a great deal of love for their families.

Molly was controlling to an almost absurd degree refusing to let him in the kitchen and constantly trying to ‘persuade’ him about the wonders of the magical world and to give Sirius a chance, despite the fact she treated him like a criminal and ordered him about in his own home. If he was being honest he was already starting to forgive him, the man clearly had no say in what was going on and after seeing the house he’d grown up in he couldn’t help but realise just how messed up it had probably made him. Jim would have gone insane if he’d lived here.

Molly on the other hand was having none of it. If it didn’t fit her world view she did her best to change it or regarded it as dark and dangerous. He sincerely hoped her kids weren’t anything like her. Kids he’d thought she was neglecting until she cheerfully informed him would be arriving in a day or so. Apparently that was today and she had gone on a cleaning frenzy, whipping up a veritable feast that did nothing for Jim’s appetite as he found himself eyeing the forks. No one cared that Fletcher kept making off with anything not nailed down would they really miss a few? Or a lot until he could either get home or get some money for his own?

Jim groaned as he sat on his bed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to focus on something more productive then the growing contempt he had for this self-proclaimed ‘Wizards’, they made Merlin in his early days tolerable. At least Sirius tried to give him answers. He refused to see his situation as hopeless though it was certainly up there in terms of difficulty, when he’d enquired about the magic they used it always ended up about Hogwarts and how he’d _“have such a wonderful time_ ,” even Sirius chimed in until Jim glared at him, all he wanted to know was what they had done to him and how it affected the Amulet, the twingeing sensation having yet to fade, though he hadn’t felt the odd prickling feeling behind his eyes since the meeting.

They’d also blocked off the library. Jim had been surprised that they had a private library but apparently the Blacks were a very old and very rich family despite the tendency towards insanity (thank you Sirius). He wished he could say he was surprised it was also charmed (read: cursed) but after seeing the numerous books moving themselves and the general air of malice that permeated the room he could understand why they weren’t allowing anyone in there cutting off yet another source of answers.

A loud bang from below dragged him from his thoughts.

Bored, and not a little desperate for something to happen, Jim quietly made for the door, opening it a crack only to be assaulted by noise. Voices practically leapt up the stairwell, mostly young boys though a girl’s voice was making itself known amid the clamour. Jim could just make out several adults joining in with loud ‘shushing’ noises as they tried to gain control of whatever chaos had entered.

Curiosity getting the better of him Jim walked forward, leaning carelessly against the banister and staring down to the entrance hall, he noticed Sirius doing the same just above, one hand moving in an odd jerky fashion as if....

The curtains covering the screeching portrait burst open and the shrill, hateful howl joining the cacophony. Jim could only look on in twisted amusement as the shouting from a group of redheads by the door only increased in volume while the two Auror’s, Kingsley and Tonks, fought to get the curtains closed once again. A brief glance up had Sirius sending him a wry grin as Molly Weasley tried to take control of the situation and fail. Jim looked sharply back to the entrance hall trying to ignore that brief moment of camaraderie between a father and son.

Jim noticed Dumbledore’s subtle entrance with a bushy haired girl holding a large bag as the large red mass finally started to quiet down as another red head appeared, this one different from the others purely from the sheer amount of animal hide he was wearing, its faint scent drifting up to Jim’s nose to tell him it wasn’t regular leather. He felt his stomach clench as it reminded him he hadn’t eaten properly in a while, Jim wasn’t particularly fond of leather as food but he knew when even the idea seemed appealing he needed to do something if only to avoid flossing the fibres out of his fangs.

Shaking his head to try and dispel the thought the young TrollHunter focused back on the group of three tall boys all with equally red hair and a girl pointing her wand at one of the, he assumed, twins as they fought over space and whose foot was on whose while one frazzled Molly Weasley tried to break up any arguments and calm them down.

He watched as the younger red haired boy saw the bushy haired girl and shoved his way towards her, excitedly greeting her with a brief hug and breaking into some excited babble that Jim doubted the most experienced lip reader could determine. He saw Sirius make his down out of the corner of his eye, calling to reds in a cheerful greeting, deliberately ignoring Molly as she fussed with the bags; he wasn’t sure why but Jim felt annoyed on her behalf that they didn’t even offer to help.

He should have moved back sooner, but then hindsight has always been 20/20, Jim thought as Sirius finished greeting the reds, catching the last few words.

“....staying with my son Jim,”

In a move eerily reminiscent of a horror movie the reds, plus bushy hair, all looked up, five pairs of young, innocent eyes staring up directly at him.

Jim remembered when he wished for adventure and found the Amulet. He remembered when he wished for peace (several times) and ended up with battle, terror and a near apocalyptic town. He remembered wishing for an edge and lost half of his humanity. He remembered wishing to be normal, to have his family back; he didn’t get the normal, but his family became stronger, more confident. He remembered long ago, staring out the window and wishing for his dad to come back and for his mom to stop crying; now 12/13 years later he was in his father’s family home wanting nothing more than to return to return to his own family.

As Jim stood on the second floor landing looking down at the invading family of reds staring up at him through the banisters and gloom and wondered what might have been if he’d never made that wish.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter I'm not exactly happy with but needed to be done to move the plot along and introduce the characers quite a few people have commented on looking forward to, I had hoped to include more of their interactions in this chapter unfortuneately it didn't work out that way. Little Note the last part was done to Krezia Draws TrollHunter animatic So Big/So Small from Dear Evan Hansen, ever since I saw it everytime Jim's dad is mentioned it keeps going through my head so I recommend you check it out;  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtpdNpLER9A.  
> None the less I hope you enjoyed the chapter and see you next week.


	21. Chapter 20 - Magical Families and Wizarding Law

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the delay but computer updates and general Microsoft.....issues just.....there are times I hate computers. But here is Chapter 20, or at least part of chapter 20, the edits I ended up making turned out to be more extensive then planned, seriously it was terrible, and I'm still not happy with it but I did say I would be posting something today (guiltily looking at the clock as it says five minutes to midnight) I will however add the res tof this chapter, including the next one for the coming Friday. Fingers crossed this won't happen again though you are welcome to guess what may be happen considering the chapter title

Jim did not like being the centre of attention. He didn’t hate it, he didn’t curl up in a dark corner and try to will it away, but he didn’t like it. Acting was different, he could easily play a role on stage and of course being the TrollHunter brought a certain amount of attention with it for the sheer fact he was _the_ TrollHunter, even more so after slaying both Bular and Gunmar. That he could handle, it wasn’t an issue, but this? Being the sole focus of everyone in the room for something he couldn’t control or help? Jim hated that, he had loathed it when he was nine and dropped a large book in an otherwise silent library, the bang had resulted in every pair of eyes focused on him, judging him; he hated being stared at when he was late to class and every other student looked at him, even with the teachers relaxing the rules when it came to him due to his TrollHunter duties and Half-Troll needs it was still uncomfortable and nerve-wrecking, even more so when it was Senor Uhl, the Spanish teacher refusing to budge an inch, he expected the best from his students and made it clear that anyone not living up to those standards would receive no quarter. _Uhl the Unforgiving_ was not a title made in jest.

It was with a sense of dread that Jim made his way downstairs, trying to ignore the numerous eyes focused on him. Judging him for things they knew nothing about it. Taking a calming breath Jim took the final step into the ground floor hall.

An important note most witches and wizards learn, albeit unconsciously and only after witnessing some other unfortunate soul be thrown under the bus, is to never meet the Weasley family when there’s more than three, especially when the twins are around. Poor Jim was never warned of this having avoided Sirius and the majority of the ‘guests’ of Number 12 Grimmauld Place for the past two days and Molly Weasley thinking nothing of it having never thought to question the wary glances sent her way whenever the red headed family was out shopping together; her hands and mind much to focused on keeping them out of trouble and her husband Arthur to wrapped up in making sure he knew where his youngest where or absorbed in his latest encounter with ‘Muggle stuff’ as his family had taken to calling it. As such Jim was temporarily....lost in the whirlwind of greetings, handshakes and questions being thrown his way.

“Quiet down!” Molly Weasley’s shrill voice managed to rise above the din, though it did nothing to help the ringing in Jim’s ears, “Really you’ll overwhelm the poor boy,” with that final sentence she disappeared down to the kitchens, though for what Jim couldn’t figure out, dinner having been over an hour ago and the clean up handled by magic.

“So you’re James Black?” the younger red head asked, his eyes wide as he took in the impressive height the young Half-Troll stood at, “Didn’t know you were part giant,”

“Ronald!” the bushy haired girl elbowed him sharply in the stomach.

“Ow! Hermione!”

“Well you shouldn’t be so rude,” Jim decided to ignore the two teenagers as he looked at the other three. The youngest, a red headed girl had gone almost as red as her hair as she tried to desperately look somewhere else and seemed determined to somehow escape for some reason. Instead he focused on the two near identical red heads, the two having been the ones to ask the most questions in their initial introduction and as a consequence would have it standing the closest to the bewildered half-human.

“Names Fred,” the one on the left introduced himself, Jim being careful to note his scent, a slightly woody smell with a pleasantly acidic tang mixed with sugar.

“And I’m George,” the other said as he stood back-to-back with his twin, his scent being smokier than his brothers mixed with rain an oddly soothing combination Jim thought.

“Like our so eloquent brother asked-” Fred started.

“-Are you really James Black?” George finished, their eyes unwaveringly fixed on him. He really hoped they wouldn’t constantly do the whole twin-speak thing it was bad enough when Toby and Darci did it as a couple to wind him up.

“It’s Lake,”

“Lake? But you’re-” Fred found his mouth shutting with a click at the glare the tall teenager gave him.

“But are you really part giant?” George asked, his brow furrowed as if trying to figure out a particularly difficult puzzle.

“Troll actually,” Jim answered dryly.  Something about the two made Jim want to be honest with them, whether that was the result of magic or his instincts seeing them as genuinely good people he didn’t know, maybe it was time to test the waters....

The two burst out laughing clutching at each other as if it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard.

“Good one mate,”

“Yeah, no one’s that desperate,”

They knew about Trolls? But Blinky....unless they only thought they knew about Trolls, hadn’t Strickler mentioned something about historical interpretation and its subjectivity to a person’s perspective? If only he had access to that library....subtlety had never been Jim’s strong suit, his natural dislike of lying to people, especially those he cared about, made it difficult for him Omitting the truth was so much easier though his time with Strickler and Nomura, as well as mediating so many arguments among the Trolls had improved his skill at deception, maybe if....the museum....

“But where are our manners?” Fred spoke up as he and his brother started to calm down, “You may know our names but these are our brother Ron-”

“-His friend Hermione and our little sister-”

“ **Ginny!”** they finished together, gesturing to each in turn before they held out their hands.

“Er, Jim, Jim Lake,” he had to bite his tongue not add Son of Barbara, silently cursing the etiquette and diplomacy lessons Blinky had started him on, apparently it was rude in Troll society not to announce your immediate family lineage.

“Woah what happened to your hand mate?” Fred asked when he saw Jim’s four fingered left hand.

Jim tried not to let his panic show, “I lost it in the bathtub,” he wasn’t sure if his expression showed, the urge to cross his fingers growing as the group of teenagers stared at his four-fingered hand, the only visible tell to his half-troll status as long as he didn’t allow his emotions to get the best of him. He must have been successful as the twins chuckled before breaking out into full blown laughter, the other three soon following.

..................................................................................................................................................................

Sirius smiled to himself as he watched his son be bombarded by the Weasley children, a small twinge of guilt in his gut for not warning him and throwing him to the wolves. He slowly started making his way to the kitchen where he hoped a bucket had been set aside for BuckBeak’s dinner. The Hippogriff had been oddly tense lately, destroying what little remained of his mother’s furniture and the Black scion couldn’t even blame Kreacher, the miserable little elf having made himself scarcer than usual and twitchy when he did show though not in his normal, sneaky way.

He ignored Molly as she busied herself with.....something, the woman’s manner having always been a mystery to Sirius, though he wasn’t a parent to over half-a-dozen kids with a tendency to adopt everyone of their friends as part of the family, he still felt sore over her mothering towards Harry and the glare she not-so-discreetly sent him whenever he mentioned him.

Seeing Jim in Grimmauld Place, surrounded by the ‘faded grandeur’ of the Black family and several witches and wizards was bitter sweet. His actions had taken his son from his mother and he only had a vague idea what the fake Moody had done to her, Dumbledore had promised to look into it but after kidnapping Jim he had started to doubt some of the elderly wizard’s actions, he couldn’t help but feel an ominous shadow had been cast over him and that it was going to go badly.

The bucket for BuckBeak was set neatly near the kitchen cupboards, filled to the brim with chunks of meat and bone, the sight of it making his inner Grim growl in hunger. The wizard paused before picking it up; quelling the instincts that had come forward from spending so long in his Animagus form while on the run.

The sound of boisterous laughter echoed throughout the house, fortunately not disturbing his mother’s portrait. He cast a fond glance over to the group as he returned to the ground floor, a part of him curious and hurt at not being part of it at seeing the small smile creeping across Jim’s face until he saw his hand.

Sirius’s time in Azakaban may have affected his mind, it may have influenced his behaviour and how the cold no longer bothered him as much but when it did it caused him to have nightmares; every bad memory amplified and twisted beyond recognition. It did not, however, affect his memory. He could remember the day Jim was born, his small body and disgruntled, screaming face as the doctor handed him to a nurse before handing him off to his mother. He remembered Barbara’s face, sweaty and exhausted, eyes wide but tired as she gazed at the small bundle in her arms, her smile, tired but so full of love and happiness it stole his heart all over again, so much so he was determined to ask her to marry him.

He remembered Jim growing up, his softly spoken nature, his big heart, he had a kind word for everyone though he also had the protective streak and ferocity he knew he’d inherited from his mother that would send any bully running. He also remembered that Jim had five fingers on each hand. Five, slim fingers that already promised to be dextrous enough that he could cause serious trouble if he put his mind to it.

The hand he saw was not his son’s. It couldn’t be with its four thick digits and overly large nails that put him more in mind of a creature than a human, they weren’t sharp and pointed just...wrong, too big to be human. And the twins were joking about it.

Sirius didn’t even register the clatter of the bucket as it spilled raw meat all over the floor and stairs as he growled, marching forward to grab the offending limb, his instincts urging him to protect, to hurt whoever, or whatever had done this.

“What is this?” any laughter there may have been quickly died as the children saw the furious expression on his face, grey eyes stormy as he grabbed hold of his son’s arm holding his hand for all to see.

“What’s going on here Sirius why is there raw- Oh my!” Molly Weasley stepped into the hall, freezing when she saw Jim’s four fingered hand, eyes widening as her face paled in horror and spreading as the remaining Order members joined them, Kingsley quickly taking charge in the background.

“Hey!” a sharp jerk and Jim had his harm free, rubbing where Sirius had grabbed him as he glared at the man. Sirius could only stare at his son; he’d never noticed how tall he was. Sure he’d seen it when he’d gone to Arcadia, but now? In front of people his own age and older? Jim towered over them, his height only lending his glare weight as Sirius found himself at a loss for words.

“....What happened to your hand?” he eventually managed to ask, eyes flicking between his son’s four fingers and his face.

“None of your business,”

“You are my son so it is my concern,”

“Oh now you want to be a dad? You lost that right when you walked out on us,”

“So I can’t worry about my own son losing a finger?!”

“It’s just a finger!”

“It’s not just a finger it’s your entire hand! The only way for something like that to happen is magic!” Jim tried to hide his flinch, Sirius wasn’t exactly wrong about the last part; instead gritting his teeth as his old anger came forward mixing with the frustration from being kidnapped and held against his will.

“Perhaps you should let an Auror look over it dear just to be safe-”

“No! I am tired of people always acting as if they know what’s best for me when they nothing about me. It’s my hand not yours, stay out of it!” with a quiet growl Jim left, taking the stairs several at a time, slamming the door to the room he’d been staying in hard enough to shake the wall and waking up the portrait.

Sirius inwardly groaned at his son’s temper tantrum, silently wondering if he’d ever behaved like before realising he’d probably acted worse to people who weren’t family. He just wanted to protect his son, why wouldn’t he let him protect him?

“He’ll be fine Siri just let him cool down and it’ll work itself out,” Tonks called as she hurried up the stairs to wrestle with the curtains once again.

Sirius just nodded and bent down to pick up the spilled meat and take it to, what he was sure, was a hungry and irritated Hippogriff, his shoulders hunched over as he mourned his, many, missed opportunities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments so far including the many brilliant suggestions for potential 'upgrades' to Jim's armour as well as some character interaction. I really hope this doesn't disappoint but it will be longer before the week is out.  
> I also recommend you check out 'Severe Head Injury' by hiddenwriterspirit over on deviant art; https://www.deviantart.com/hiddenwriterspirit/art/Severe-Head-Injury-762945109, some of their work has defintely inspired some of Jim's responses


	22. Not A Chapter: AN

I am really sorry for the lack of updates but thank you for the comments checking I'm alive. Unfortunately stuff/life happened so I haven't been able to dedicate as much time as I'd like to writing, not to mention getting involved in about five other fandoms at the same time because I tried Crunchy Roll didn't help either though I have to recommend people try The Dragon Prince on Netflix if they can, it's looking to be a good series. Ahem. Anyway again I apologise for the lack of update, if things don't decide to turn into a veritable storm of chaos and calamity I should be able to post the next chapter next Friday 12th of October along with the rest of the previous chapter and hopefully resume a regular update schedule. In the meantime thank you to all those who've commented thus far :)


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